


Living in a Twisted Dream

by Kittens



Series: Twisted Blade [2]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Dubious Consent, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Choking, Inappropriate Use of the Force, M/M, Non-Consensual Touching, Power Imbalance, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Unsafe Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2019-11-26 23:26:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 49,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18186890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittens/pseuds/Kittens
Summary: Kylo Ren is an attractive man. Hux can't deny that. It's been his secret since the first time he saw Ren unmasked. He knew nothing would ever come of his strange attraction, especially now that Ren is the Supreme Leader. And Hux is perfectly happy to keep it as a fantasy. But Ren always has a way of ruining his plans.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's been one year since I started posting the first Kylux fic I wrote and at the time, I was not great at writing Hux's POV. I took out all his parts so the entire fic was from Kylo's POV. I was gonna fix them up and post them, but since it's been so long, I just decided to rewrite the entire thing from Hux's POV. So it you've read the first part of this series, you've already read this! But for anyone who hasn't, you can either read it from Hux's POV or Kylo's. The original parts I had for Hux are in chapters 3, 6, 10, and 11, so you can also read just those if you already read Kylo's POV.

With everything that had changed, Hux had planned and expected to go at least a week with very little sleep. Assuming that he survived the new Supreme Leader. His neck and side were sore from the attacks he’d suffered shortly after Kylo Ren declared himself the new head of the First Order. At the rate he was going, Hux wondered if he’d manage to survive a month. The worst part was that it’d likely be an accident with Ren being careless with his powers. He didn’t think he actually wanted to kill him.

Hux knew he’d need to be careful around Ren, especially if he hoped to replace him someday. With any luck, he’d have a chance to remove him soon. Or maybe he’d decide he didn’t like being Supreme Leader and step down. He wouldn’t put it past him. He acted enough like a child under normal circumstances. Perhaps after a few months of having responsibility, he’d be begging Hux to take over.

They were still mopping up the mess that used to be their fleet over Crait. Which meant there were plenty of decisions to be made. Most were below Ren’s or even Hux’s level, but Hux couldn’t help but want to oversee everything. But there were other things that needed to be done. The remnants of the Resistance needed to be found and eliminated, they needed to find the resources to repair or replace what they lost, and of course, they had to deal with Snoke’s death. 

Unfortunately, Kylo hadn’t managed to keep his death under wraps and now, some of his long time supporters were requesting to meet the new Supreme Leader. And Hux knew it wasn’t really a request. If they withdrew their support from the First Order, there was no doubt in Hux’s mind that others would soon follow. Especially with their fleet decimated. They wouldn’t be able to control systems by force if they decided to leave.

The only reasonable course of action was to meet with them as soon as possible and assure them that Ren, as Snoke’s apprentice, was the ideal choice to replace him. As much as Hux hated it, he’d have to support Ren. He almost responded to their message to agree to the meeting, but he knew he’d need to talk to Ren first. And of course, when he needed him, he was nowhere to be found.

He’d noticed him leaving the bridge a short while ago, but he’d assumed he’d be back. Like Hux, Ren had been working nearly constantly since his ascension. Although that was likely only because he hadn’t been left alone long enough to do anything else. Hux had enjoyed watching him suffer - Hux was used to long hours, but Ren was not and it showed as he became increasingly frustrated. Interestingly, he also seemed to tired to lash out with his lightsaber.

Knowing that Ren had been going on very little sleep, it wasn’t hard for him to figure out where he most likely went. He headed to Ren’s quarters and requested entry. There was no answer, so he pressed the button again. Hux wondered if perhaps he wasn’t there, but he couldn’t think of where else he might have gone. Wanting to make sure Ren wasn’t there, he entered his override code and the door opened for him. 

He wasn’t expecting to find Ren slumped on the floor, leaning up against the wall. For a brief moment, Hux thought he might be dead, but as he walked into the room, Ren lifted his head so he could glare at him. Or at least, that’s what Hux thought he was trying to do. He just looked exhausted.

“Go away,” Ren said, barely coherent.

“What are you doing down there, Ren?” Hux asked as he came to stand in front of him. He had more important things to worry about, but if the Supreme Leader was injured, he should know about it.

“I told you to get out.” Of course he ignored the question. But that didn’t bother Hux. He’d come for something else anyway.

“I need you to decide -”

“I don’t care,” Kylo interrupted before he could finish and Hux felt his lip twitch in anger. “Whatever it is, you figure it out.”

“Ren.” Before he could tell him about the meeting that needed to take place, the door opened again and Hux glanced at it. There was no one on the other side. Somehow it’d just opened on it’s own. He didn’t have much time to think about it because he found himself being shoved out the door, which then closed behind him. The Force. Of course that’s what that was.

He was irritated with Ren and his attitude, but if he wanted him to make the decisions, that was fine with him. He sent a message saying that the Supreme Leader would meet with the planetary leaders, but as soon as he sent that, he realized there was another matter to attend to first.

Being new to the role of Supreme Leader, Ren didn’t have an appropriate wardrobe. Hux had never seen him in anything besides the rags he called clothes. They’d need to address that issue. And quickly. Hux put out word to the nearest tailor and then had the _Finalizer_ make the jump to light speed to meet the tailor. It would make their schedule tight, but at least Ren would arrive at the meeting in appropriate clothing.

***

Hux managed a few hours of sleep between making the immediate plans for the Supreme Leader and being woken up by an alert telling him that the tailor was on his way. There wasn’t much time and he knew he needed to make sure Ren knew about the tailor’s arrival. He didn’t need him accidentally killing him.

He went to Ren’s quarters and requested entry just like he had last time. There was no answer, and remembering what happened last time he’d just walked in, he decided against it. Instead he knocked on the door, hoping the noise would be enough to wake him. That didn’t seem to have any effect, but he recalled how Ren had been leaning against the wall. The wall that was right next to the door. If he had fallen asleep there, then maybe Hux could wake him up with a kick.

He glanced down the corridor, making sure there was no one to witness him. He knew what it would look like, and he didn’t want anyone to be talking about how General Hux had been kicking walls. He was the only one there and he kicked the wall several times where he thought Ren’s head would be.

Soon, the door started to open and Hux smiled, glad that his plan had worked. The smile and his good mood didn’t last long, however. Before the door had even fully opened, there was pressure on his neck. He couldn’t breath. Before the panic could set in, he was released. Ren stood before him, looking confused.

“Oh,” Ren said as he took a step back into his quarters. “It’s you.”

“Of course it’s me!” Hux nearly shouted at him. Fortunately, he hadn’t been choked very long or particularly hard so he didn’t have any trouble speaking. “Who else do you think would be at your door? And do you think you can go a single day without trying to kill me?”

“I’ve never tried to kill you,” he muttered. “More than I can say for you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Remembering that he hadn’t come there to argue with Ren, he walked into the room. “A tailor will be here to see you shortly. I suggest you get ready.”

“A tailor?”

“Yes, Ren, a tailor. Someone who takes your measurements and makes clothes that fit you.” 

“I know what a tailor is. I just don’t know why I need one.”

“You’re the Supreme Leader now which means you can’t be meeting with dignitaries dressed like…” Hux didn’t really have the words to describe Ren’s usual style of dress, so he waved his hand in his direction. “That.”

“Meeting with dignitaries? Can’t you do that?” Hux thought he could hear him getting ready to whine and plead so he didn’t have to do the parts of the job he didn’t want to do. Hux was not surprised at all.

“No, I can’t.” He really couldn’t, but he also didn’t want to. In fact, he thought he’d enjoy watching Ren struggle and fail at his new position. It would serve him right for taking it without knowing what he was getting in to.

“Really? Even if it hurts the Order?”

“If what hurts the Order?” Hux had no idea what he was talking about. Having a conversation with Ren was always difficult even under the best of circumstances, but Ren seemed to be somewhere else.

“If I fail. I imagine there’s consequences if I don’t do this right. Why else would you bring a tailor?”

For a moment, Hux had no idea what Ren was talking about. His comments made no sense given their conversation, but he realized that it made perfect sense in response to his thoughts. And Ren was a mind reader. He replayed the past few minutes, just to assure himself that he hadn’t accidentally spoken out loud. By the time he was certain that he had not, Ren was on his bed and throwing his boots across the room. Hux frowned, unsure how he could act like such a child in everything that he did.

“Ren,” he said as he walked closer to him. “Did you read my mind?”

“No.” He paused, as if he were thinking. “Not recently, anyway.”

“You must have,” Hux said. He didn’t know why he bothered asking Ren anything. He couldn’t be relied on to be truthful. “I didn’t say that out loud. I know I didn’t. Stay out of my head, Ren!”

“Or what?” Ren asked, a grin on his face. “You’ll complain to the Supreme Leader? Please, General. I’m sure he’d love to hear your complaints.” He stood up and walked over to Hux as he spoke, getting far too close for comfort. He’d never liked Ren invading his personal space, but it was different now. He used to hate it because he couldn’t ignore how beautiful Ren was up close, but now, he was painfully aware that there was nothing to hold him back anymore. The bruises covering his body proved that. He could feel an odd combination of finding Ren both attractive and terrifying.

Normally, he simply wanted to strike Ren and maybe ruin that face for him. Of course, the scavenger girl had done that for him and Hux couldn’t say it made him ugly. It was a reminder of the kind of person Ren was - dangerous. Hux had always managed to stand his ground when dealing with Snoke and Ren, but now, he really just wanted to leave the room. He’d known Snoke might kill him, but for some reason, the thought of being killed by Ren’s hands was far worse and he wanted to avoid that at all costs.

To his surprise, Kylo stepped away from him. That was entirely unlike Ren. Hux couldn’t remember any other time that Ren had moved out of his personal space unless he’d decided the conversation was over. He studied his body language, and he didn’t think that Ren was finished with their conversation. He hadn’t even waited for a response to his jab.

“Sorry,” he muttered. Hux wasn’t sure he’d heard him correctly, but there was no other word that he could have said.

He wanted to say something, but found himself choking on his words. Instead of speaking, he just coughed. He was still to shocked to come up with a proper response. Ren never apologized. For anything. It almost made Hux suspect he was up to something. By the time he could collect his thoughts enough to speak, Ren was sitting on his bed once again.

“Well, just don’t do it again.”

“I wasn’t apologizing for that. If I did read your mind just now, it wasn’t intentional. You were just thinking too loud.” He paused and glanced up at him before looking back towards his feet. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. That’s why I apologized.”

“Frighten me?” He frowned, knowing that Ren had been in his head again. “I’m not scared of you.”

“Yes you are.” Kylo laid down on his bed. “I felt it in the Force. I’ll try not to attack you in the future.”

At that moment, Hux didn’t feel afraid of Ren at all. It was hard to be afraid of someone who was that relaxed. Which was new. Hux had never seen him like that before. Except perhaps when he’d been unconscious on the floor of the throne room. Although now he looked more like he was ready for a nap rather than having just lost a fight, which reminded Hux why he’d come to Ren’s quarters in the first place.

“This isn’t time for a nap,” he snapped. “The tailor is on the way.”

“You mentioned that,” Kylo said, sounding bored. “But you didn’t mention why I’ve got to do this now. There’s more important things to be done.”

In Ren’s mind, taking a nap probably was more important than ensuring the continued success of the First Order. Hux felt a slight bit of rage that the man before him managed to become Supreme Leader when he’d done nothing to deserve it, but he pushed it down. He just had to make the best of the situation.

“Well,” he said, deciding he should at least explain to Ren what was going on. And why it was his fault he didn’t know. “As you said several hours ago, you wanted me to decide on our next course of action. We’re on our way to meet with some of Snoke’s supporters. I’ll -”

“What? Why?” Ren jumped to his feet so quickly that Hux was sure he was about to be attacked again. He managed not to flinch, but he couldn’t help but tense up in anticipation of being thrown about the room. Ren was clearly angry as he seemed to be lashing out at everything else in the room. He could hear things falling to the floor and see things shaking with Ren’s rage, but he surprisingly remained unharmed.

“Control yourself, Ren.” Maybe he’d meant it when he said he’d try not to harm him again, although Hux doubted that would last long. But for the moment, he wasn’t afraid of Ren and said exactly what he was thinking. “You’re the one who told me to make a decision, and I did. The first thing you need to do is ensure the Order is held together. So we’re going to ensure that all the systems that supported Snoke also support you.”

“That’s a waste of time!” Ren shouted. “I can track down what’s left of the Resistance! The longer it takes us to find them, the more dangerous they become! We can’t give them anymore time to find allies!”

“We’ve got other resources looking for them,” Hux said, making sure that he didn’t lose his patience with Ren. It was difficult, but he wasn’t about to get involved in a shouting match with Ren. “Did you really think you could continue running around the galaxy chasing scavengers and traitors? You have responsibilities as Supreme Leader.”

“And one of those is to eliminate the Resistance,” Ren snapped. He sat down again and Hux saw his boots fly towards him and he started putting them on.

“Where are you going? You have an appointment -”

“We’re canceling that and any other stupid plans you made,” Ren interrupted.

It had been too much to hope for that Ren would see reason. Which meant that he’d have to switch tactics. As much as he hated to do it, somethings were more important than his pride. 

“Supreme Leader, please,” he said, hoping that he sounded sufficiently pathetic and pleading. Ren stopped putting his boots on and looked up at him. He at least had his full attention. “You’re scheduled to meet with leaders from four systems who have been long time supporters. If you suddenly cancel, it won’t make a good impression. I fully intend to support your claim to the title, but that will only do so much.”

None of his words were a lie. Ren canceling the meeting would make the system leaders more inclined to dislike Ren and look for any excuse to withdraw their support. He had to come across as the best possible choice to replace Snoke, which was why Hux also planned on supporting him, at least in front of anyone else. He hated Ren but it wouldn’t do to have the Order pulled apart because the leadership couldn’t get along.

Ren didn’t move from the bed and Hux had no idea if his words had worked or not. He was still on his feet and not slumped against the nearest wall, so at least he hadn’t angered Ren, but it was impossible to know what the other man was thinking. But he still hadn’t agreed to Hux’s plan.

“It should only take a few days,” he added. “Once we’ve secured their support, you can do whatever you want.” Hux felt like he was speaking to a child, but he noticed that Ren seemed to relax slightly. He shouldn’t have been surprised that it worked. After all, he made the comparison of Ren to a child on an almost daily basis.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But if you ever do something like this again, I will demote you. When’s your stupid tailor going to be here?”

It was hard to not remind Ren that he had done exactly what he was told to do. Ren had refused to even listen to the situation and told him to do whatever he wanted. And now he was mad about it. Not wanting to risk being assaulted, he decided to simply answer Ren’s question. “He’s on his way from the hangar now.” He probably should have left it at that, but he couldn’t resist pointing out Ren’s childish behavior. “And if I may offer some advice, it might be better if you could refrain from pouting in front of anyone else. It doesn’t suit the leader of the Order.”

“I’m not pouting,” he whined. Hux couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. Before he could respond, Ren changed the subject. “I’ll need you to stay while he’s here.”

“What could you possibly need me for?” Hux couldn’t imagine why Ren would need him for a tailor’s visit. And of course, he thought of just what that would entail. “You do realize you’ll need to take off most of your clothes, right?” Not that Hux would have complaints about seeing him in that state. He didn’t like it, but he really couldn’t deny the physical attraction he had to Ren.

“You’ve seen me training before,” he said with a shrug. Watching Ren train was when his attraction had really started. Sometimes, he’d even found excuses to watch him, or to at least be in the area so he might catch a glimpse of him. “And if I’m going to be so exposed, I’ll need protection. How do I know this tailor isn’t going to try to kill me?”

“We have stormtroopers,” Hux said. He didn’t even know why he was arguing against it, as he would certainly enjoy seeing a nearly naked Ren. “Any one of them would surely be more suited to the task.”

“I want you,” he said softly. “Consider it an order.”

If it was an order, then there was no sense in any further argument, so Hux fell silent. He was almost pleased about it too. As much as he hated the fact that Ren of all people could give him orders, this one at least had the promise of being pleasant. He watched as Ren started to undress until he wore only his pants and an undershirt. Although Hux had seen him shirtless before, he’d never been so close to him. With only taking a few steps, he could reach out and touch that sculpted body.

It was a stupid and dangerous thought. Ren would never let him get that close to him and certainly wouldn’t let him touch him. On the plus side, Hux would probably die from embarrassment before Ren could kill him. When the door buzzed, Ren stared at Hux, unmoving. Realizing what he wanted, Hux went over to open the door to allow the tailor and his droid in.

“Supreme Leader,” the tailor said as he walked towards Ren. “I understand you’re in a hurry, so if you’re ready, we can get started. My droid can scan you for your measurements.”

“No,” Ren said. Of course he was going to be difficult. Before Hux could ask how else he planned on getting his measurements taken, he continued. “I don’t trust droids. You do have more traditional tools, don’t you?”

Hux wondered just where Ren’s newfound distrust of droids came from. As long as he’d known the man, he’d never had an issue with droids. The more important question was why Ren was suddenly acting like he didn’t trust droids. Why would he want to use traditional measurement tools? It would require that the tailor step into his personal space and touch him. Ren didn’t seem like the type that would like that.

His question was answered when he heard Ren’s plan.

“Give it to Hux,” Ren said, glancing at him. “He’ll measure, you write it down.”

“What?” Hux said, surprised. Ren might have revealed his plan but it told Hux nothing about his motivation, and Hux couldn’t even begin to guess at that. “Supreme Leader, I am hardly qualified!”

“It’s simple. If you can command a fleet, you can do this.”

Hux knew that it was some kind of challenge. He either had to play along with Ren’s game or Ren would punish him. And if he had to guess, he would start by losing his command. He could already hear what Ren would say. “He can’t even take simple measurements. How can he be trusted to lead our army?”

As much as he hated the idea he took the measuring tape from the tailor and walked over to Ren. He couldn’t believe he was making him do such a meaningless task. Ren had no problem with droids, and the droid would have done the job faster and better. It wasn’t hard to figure out that this was Ren’s way of punishing him for his decision. Which was Ren’s fault in the first place, because he’d told him to figure things out on his own. He removed his greatcoat and tossed it on Ren’s bed and stepped up to Ren.

“I hate you,” he said quietly, not wanting the tailor to overhear. It wouldn’t do for rumors to start that the First Order leadership was fighting amongst themselves.

“Let’s get started.” There was a slight smirk on Ren’s face and Hux wanted nothing more than to smack it off his face, but he restrained himself. 

As the tailor asked for each measurement, Hux took the tape to Ren and gave him the numbers. When he first touched his bare arm, he flinched away and Hux thought that if he hated the idea of him touching him, he might change his mind about the whole thing and just let the droid measure him after all. But he settled and Hux was able to get the measurements. As he did so, he couldn’t help but be impressed by Ren’s body. He’d never imagined touching him. Even if it was in a professional way, he couldn’t help but imagine his body doing other things.

He did his best to not think of just what he would like to do to Ren, or what he’d like Ren to do to him. The last thing he needed was an erection while taking Ren’s measurements. When he took his neck measurement, he instead thought of what it would be like to pull it tight and strangle the man. It wasn’t a perfect opportunity, and he knew that Ren would be able to push him off with a thought, so he simply took the measurement and moved on. Soon, they were working on his legs, which required Hux kneel down in front of him. He hated being down on his knees in front of him, but he just tried to get the numbers out quickly.

The only hesitation came when the tailor asked for Ren’s inseam. He’d thought about touching Ren there countless times and even if taking his measurement wouldn’t quite be the same as what Hux had thought about, it was still too close. He’d managed to keep himself controlled while touching the rest of Ren, but he wasn’t so sure he could keep that up. He might just decide to do something stupid like pull Ren’s pants off and put his mouth on him. Finally, he heard Ren ordering him to do it and he put the measuring tape in his crotch.

He could definitely feel Ren against the back of his hand, but he did his best not to think about it. As soon as he had the measurement, he called it out and was on his feet and walking across the room. He needed to get as far away from Ren as possible. After giving the tape measure back, he went to stand near the door, hoping that Ren would dismiss him. Or simply forget he was there. Hux didn’t really care as long as he managed to get away from Ren.

“We’ll just need to decide on some styles,” the tailor said. “I can have some simpler garments made in no time at all, but for some of the more complex designs, it may take up to a week.”

“Hux will decide on that,” Kylo said with a dismissive wave of his hand. He couldn’t believe Ren was going to make him do that as well, especially since he should have already learned not to leave decisions to him. But he would at least be able to get away from him, so he didn’t argue. He couldn’t imagine it would take that long to decide just what to have made.


	2. Chapter 2

Selecting clothes for Ren was not the easy task that Hux had hoped it would be. The tailor had far too many possible designs. Although it was tempting to select something Ren would hate, he knew he’d be punished for it. And he needed him at his best for the meeting. So he didn’t bother looking at any of the revealing gowns, although he did like to imagine what Ren might look like in some of them.

Knowing that they needed something fast, he asked for the quickest designs to make. Most of what he had were gowns, some of which he thought Ren might like. But then he saw something that bore some semblance to a First Order uniform if the First Order were into extravagant decorations on their uniforms. But for the Supreme Leader, it would look good.

But of course, it wasn’t quite as simple as selecting a design. There were also colors and fabrics to consider. When it came to fabric, Hux didn’t know anything so he simply told the tailor to use whatever he thought would be best and to not worry about the cost. He almost told him to just make everything black, but then he realized that he wanted Kylo to stand out. There was no sense in adding decorations to his clothing if it would all be black and impossible to see, so Hux told him to add red and gold.

Although Ren only needed one outfit for the meeting, Hux decided he might as well have a few more things ordered, as he would surely need them at some point. He’d have plenty of meetings and events where he’d need to look the part of Supreme Leader and Hux didn’t want anyone to notice that he only had a single outfit. He picked out four more things for Ren, and as he was looking through the designs, he decided the first one needed a little something extra.

“I want a cape with that first outfit,” Hux said as he looked over a gown with a cape. “Floor length. Black lined with red.”

“Of course,” the tailor said. 

Hux sent him on his way and then headed to the bridge. He would be early for his shift, but there wasn’t time to return to his quarters to get a little more sleep. He probably had time to eat, but he didn’t want to risk being late. He was always the first one to arrive for the shift, and he wasn’t about to ruin that record just to get some food. He’d have time to eat later.

For the first half of his shift, nothing out of the ordinary happened. He was receiving constant reports from the Supremacy and their other damaged ships. There wasn’t anything he could actually do, but he liked to be informed of their losses and also the occasional good news that came out of the wreck. Sometimes as wreckage was being cleared, they’d find an undamaged supply room or lab, and they were even still finding survivors. 

He was just looking over the fleet status report while a senior officer delivered a message from a captain of another ship when he noticed something out of the ordinary - a large black figure heading his way. He didn’t bother to look up at Ren as he approached as if that would help. Ren was certainly going to talk to him because he never dealt with anyone else. He probably didn’t even know the names of anyone else on board the _Finalizer_.

“General,” Ren said. Hux looked up at him and waited for him to continue, but he said nothing. 

“Supreme Leader,” Hux said in greeting. He waited another moment, but Ren clearly had no intention of telling him why he was standing there, so Hux decided he’d try to figure it out on his own. “I’ve just received our current status report. Would you lke me to send it to you?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Ren answered. He almost looked lost, like he wasn’t even sure what he was doing there. 

“What can I do for you, then?” Hux tried not to sound annoyed, but he didn’t have time to deal with Ren bothering him for no good reason. But if Ren didn’t tell him exactly what he wanted soon, Hux knew he wouldn’t be able to hide his annoyance with him.

“I have an idea on how to find the Resistance,” he finally said. “I would like to discuss it with you if you’re free.”

“I can spare a few moments,” he said. That wasn’t quite what Hux had expected from him and he did want to hear what his idea was, although he felt certain that there would be some obvious flaw with it that Ren hadn’t considered. He never seemed to think his plans through.

“We can’t talk here. And it might not be a quick conversation.”

“Right.” Hux wanted to tell him that he couldn’t be bothered with it at the moment and he’d just have to wait until he had time, but he didn’t need to put Ren in a bad mood. Especially since the last thing he needed on the bridge was a temper tantrum. “Well, I’m sure I can leave the bridge for a while. Especially under orders from the Supreme Leader.”

Ren turned and walked away and Hux followed him. Hopefully whatever he had to say wouldn’t take too long and he could get back to work. Maybe he would even have a decent plan which would mean he wasn’t just wasting his time, although that was a little too much to hope for. Especially since Hux thought Ren understood that he had other tasks besides tracking down the Resistance. The fact that he was still thinking about it was a problem.

“I thought you were going to leave the Resistance to the rest of the fleet,” he said once they made it to an empty conference room. “With any luck, they’ll be eliminated before you’ve finished your mission.”

“No,” he said. “I want them alive. At least some of them. I need to speak to Rey.”

That was certainly a change from how he felt on Crait. And he didn’t like the fact that Ren had changed his mind about what to do with the Resistance. At least when Ren wanted them completely destroyed, they agreed on one thing. “Who the hell is Rey?” Hux asked. “You have friends in the Resistance?”

It didn’t come as that much of a surprise. He knew about Ren’s family and that he’d grown up in the Republic, but he’d been under the impression he was no longer friends with any of them. It didn’t bode well for the future of the First Order if the Supreme Leader was friends with its enemies.

“She’s hardly a friend. She’s tried to kill me several times. I think you’d like her.”

Hux couldn’t imagine liking anyone who would side with the Resistance, but perhaps is she could succeed in killing Ren, he might not hate her completely. It would at least save him the trouble of having to deal with him.

“That sounds like treason.”

Hux wasn’t quite sure what he meant at first but it didn’t take him long to figure out what had happened. “I told you to stop doing that!”

“I’m not trying to!” Ren shouted at him. “You must really want me dead if you can’t stop yourself from thinking about it so loudly!”

“Maybe if you weren’t so infuriating all -” Hux didn’t have the chance to finish that thought because his throat was constricted. He didn’t even have to look at Ren to know he was the one responsible for it. He briefly wondered if this would be the time Ren finally killed him, but he soon found himself released.

He was still catching his breath when Ren stepped towards him, and Hux wondered if perhaps he’d released him only to kill him in a more personal manner. “Sorry, Hux,” he muttered.

That was certainly unexpected. It was the second time Ren had apologized to him in as many days. He didn’t have time to wonder what his motive was because he was suddenly standing far to close to him. Ren’s hand reached for him and Hux couldn’t help but flinch as Ren touched his neck. He expected him to grab him and hurt him in some way, but he only brushed his finger against him.

“I really don’t want to hurt you,” Ren said. That was hard to believe, although at least at the moment, he wasn’t attacking him. Hux wasn’t sure if he’d prefer that to the oddly gentle touch though.

“I believe your record has been about twelve hours without injuring me,” he said. Ren dropped his hand away from his neck and Hux remembered the reason Ren had asked to see him privately. “Did you actually need to talk to me, or did you just want to choke me again?”

“I probably shouldn’t feel too bad. You were going to shoot me.”

For a brief moment, Hux didn’t know what he meant but then he remembered the throne room. Before he had declared himself Supreme Leader. He’d definitely considered it, and probably would have had he not woken up at the wrong time. But there was no way Ren could have known about that. He’d been unconscious. And if he knew, then why was he still alive?

“You can’t honestly believe I didn’t know about that.”

“I…” Every excuse he came up with was pointless. Ren wouldn’t care why he wanted him dead. He’d probably just kill him now and be done with it. 

“I didn’t want to talk about that,” Ren said. Hux thought that he might just kill him instead of talking, but he continued. “I really think I can find the Resistance. But I’m having some trouble concentrating.”

“So go destroy something like you always do,” Hux suggested before he could think better of it. 

“That won’t work. I…” He looked down, almost embarrassed. “I made a mistake.”

“I’m shocked.”

“Do you remember when I had you take my measurements?” Ren asked, ignoring Hux. He wasn’t sure what measurements had to do with the Resistance, but Ren continued. “I did that because, well, it was amusing. But also because I thought you might want to.”

“What would ever give you an idea like that?” He knew that hadn’t come from reading his mind.

“I know how you feel about me.”

“I’m sure the entire First Order knows I hate you.” Probably most of the galaxy as well. It wasn’t as if they kept their dislike for each other a secret.

“But that’s not the only thing you feel.”

Hux couldn’t even begin to imagine where Ren was going with the conversation. “Ren, whatever you’re getting at -”

“The first time you saw me with my mask off, you couldn’t believe that I’d hide such a pretty face. You then imagined what you’d like to do to my face.” A small smirk as he spoke and although Hux would have loved to wipe that from his face, but he realized just how frequently Ren had read his mind. And he could feel heat rising to his cheeks as Ren told him just what sorts of things he had known.

“But that was nothing compared to what you thought when you saw me training,” Ren said, the smile on his face growing larger. “I used to wear a lot more clothing when training, but once I knew I could tease you, well, I couldn’t help it. You had some very interesting ideas of what you wanted to do to me. And what you wanted me to do to you. I really did enjoy some of your thoughts involving you on -”

“What’s your point, Ren?” Hux snapped. He didn’t need him to finish that sentence. He couldn’t believe that Ren had known all along about some of his deviant thoughts about him, but the last thing he needed was for Ren saying them out loud. “Do you want me to admit that I find you physically appealing? If so, fine. I do. But I still despise you.”

“I’m aware. You do sometimes have trouble hiding that as well. But that’s not important right now. So like I said, I thought you might enjoy doing the measurements. I didn’t exactly think through how I would feel about it.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t like me touching you, but it was your idea.” He still had no idea why Ren had brought all of this up. 

“That’s not it.” Ren tilted his head slightly, as if he were thinking. “The thing is, I liked it. You being that close. And touching me. I really haven’t had anyone do that for a while. I didn’t think I’d have any reaction. But the thing is, I can’t concentrate enough to find the Resistance because I keep thinking of you.”

“I see,” Hux said, trying to process everything he’d just heard. Ren had known he thought he was attractive and he liked it when he was touched. That was definitely leading somewhere, but he could only really focus on the last thing Ren had said. “So you can use the Force to choke me, but not to do anything useful?”

“It’s not like that, Hux.” Ren sounded a little frustrated and Hux suspected he might be on the receiving end of Ren’s powers again if he wasn’t careful. “It’s not like I can’t use the Force, but I need to focus if I want to find out where the Resistance is. And right now, anytime I try to clear my mind, all I can think about is you.”

“Should I transfer to another ship? Is that what you’re proposing?” He couldn’t think of another solution to Ren’s issue. Not unless Ren planned on killing him after all.

“No, not at all,” he said with a shake of his head. He glanced away, looking behind Hux. “I was thinking… what if we just went through with it?”

Hux choked on his own saliva. Out of everything Ren could have said, that was the most unexpected thing. Of course that’s the solution Ren would come up with. 

“Are you insane?” he asked when he realized that Ren was waiting for a reply. “Yes, I do find you incredibly attractive and I’m sorry you that you can’t control yourself and stop getting in my head, but if you think that I’d ever consider actually doing any of those things with you, you’ve lost what little sense you had.”

He might have had several fantasies involving the man, but that’s all they were. Just fantasies and he’d never had any intention of acting on them. And because he was angry that Ren had wasted his time, he didn’t let him down gently. He hoped a harsh rejection might be enough to make sure Ren never brought it up again, but at the very least, he might make him angry. Although he didn’t seem angry. Instead, he looked like he might cry.

“Don’t give me that pathetic look. Crying isn’t going to change my mind. If that’s all, I’ll be returning to the bridge.” Ren had wasted enough of his time with his nonsense and he headed for the door, hoping Ren would never bring up the subject again.

“What if it was an order?” Ren asked before he could leave.

Hux felt his blood run cold as he turned around to face him again. He knew Ren was a terrible person, but he never imagined he would do something so depraved. He wanted to tell him that he couldn’t give an order like that, but Hux knew that there was no one to stop him, no one that he could file a grievance with. He couldn’t let Ren order him into bed, but he also couldn’t disobey an order.

“The longer you’re silent, the more I’m tempted to go inside your head.”

“What do you want me to say? My feelings are the same, but I won’t ignore an order. Is it?” He hoped Ren would tell him no, that he’d just been messing with him, that the entire thing was just a joke. But he never managed to have that kind of luck.

“Yes,” he said as he walked towards him. “Come to my quarters when your shift is over.”

Hux didn’t move for several moments, unable to believe what he’d been ordered to do. He felt sick, and for the first time in his life, he was considering disobeying orders.


	3. Chapter 3

When Hux returned to the bridge, he knew he looked as composed as ever. Inside, he knew he was near panicked. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Ren had said to him in the conference room, trying to think if perhaps he’d been mistaken. Maybe it was something else that he wanted from him.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there could be no other meaning in his words. The Supreme Leader had ordered him to his bed and there was nothing he could do about it. 

Hux couldn’t help but blame himself. He’d so casually rejected Ren, knowing that it’d anger him. That had been his goal. He wasn’t prepared to jump in bed with him as soon as he mentioned it - he wasn’t desperate for a partner, especially not for the likes of Ren. But it wasn’t as if he was completely uninterested. Maybe he should have let him down more gently and then Hux could have done things on his own terms.

It was too late for any “what ifs.” After his shift was over, he had orders to follow. It wasn’t the first unpleasant order he’d been given and it surely wouldn’t be the last. If he was lucky, it would be a one time thing. Satisfy Ren’s curiosity and then perhaps he’d forget about him and let him do his job in peace. 

But he also thought about the worst case scenario. Ren was a violent person. He’d proven that to Hux several times since declaring himself Supreme Leader. There was a good possibility that he wouldn’t make it out of the encounter alive. Or if he survived, he might take him weeks to recover from whatever new injuries Ren would inflict on him. 

The more he thought about just what Ren would do, the more he realized he needed to find a way out of the situation. If he simply didn’t show up, would Ren be any more angry than he already was? If he avoided him long enough, he might just forget about the entire thing. That wasn’t likely. If he did that, Ren would likely just come to him. And that would likely make him angry. That wasn’t what Hux wanted to deal with.

If there were some kind of emergency, perhaps. Something that prevented him from leaving the bridge. Ren could hardly blame him for taking care of the ship and the Order. Except it was Ren. He would get mad about it. But as long as he believed that Hux intended to follow orders, it could work. Of course, there was no such emergency and he couldn’t simply fabricate one. Short of coming under attack, he didn’t think anything might happen that would prevent him from leaving the bridge. 

“General?” An uncertain voice pulled him from his thoughts of potential emergencies.

“What?” He snapped at a young lieutenant, who jumped at his harsh tone. “Apologies, Lieutenant. What can I do for you?”

“I have the reports you asked for,” she said, holding a datapad out towards him.

“Thank you,” he said as he took the datapad. He glanced it over and nodded. “Dismissed.”

The lieutenant quickly returned to her station, probably glad to get away from him. He rarely let his bad moods affect how he interacted with his subordinates. But he usually wasn’t ordered to bed Kylo Ren. The thought was making his stomach twist. If he didn’t know better, he might think he was about to be sick.

That was an idea that might just work. Surely Ren wouldn’t want him anywhere near him if he was throwing up. He could easily leave the bridge a little early and stop by medical and grab an emetic or a laxative. Or both. Maybe that would be enough to permanently turn Ren off so he’d never consider him again. But he could also imagine Ren waiting, in which case, he would only be delaying the inevitable. He’d rather get it over with.

But he could modify his medical records to show he had some kind of rare, incurable sexually transmitted disease. Surely there was something out there he could claim to have to ensure Ren never wanted to touch him. But Ren would wonder why he hadn’t mentioned that in the first place. And then he’d read his mind and learn he had faked it, leaving him once again in the position of dealing with an angry Ren.

Although he probably would end up with some kind of disease after sleeping with Ren. Who knew what kind of diseases the man had picked up on his countless missions across the galaxy? Hux wondered if he might at least agree to wear protection, but he doubted it. Since when had Ren cared about anyone besides himself?

As the end of his shift drew near, Hux had no ideas that might actually work. Not unless he wanted to simply run away from the First Order. But what would he do then? He wasn’t about to give up everything he’d ever known because of Ren. He’d just have to go through with it and hope for the best.

Ren had one thing right - he had thought about fucking him many times before. And there were many times he’d actually wished it could happen. Maybe if he could simply pretend that Ren hadn’t ordered him, it wouldn’t be so bad. He might even enjoy it. Telling himself it wouldn’t be terrible and that he really did want it, he made his way towards Ren’s quarters. But with every step he took, his sense of dread grew. Ren might severely injure him. Or kill him. Or give him some terrible disease. So many things could go wrong.

He hesitated outside Ren’s door - his last chance to disobey the order and leave. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it, so he pressed the button to request entry and closed his eyes, waiting for the door to open. To his surprise, it didn’t open. For a moment, Hux thought that was it - he had his way out. He attempted to follow orders, but Ren didn’t let him in. So what was he supposed to do?

Knowing Ren, it was some kind of test. He was probably sitting inside, waiting. If he left, he’d chase him down and drag him inside. As much as he really wanted to leave, he instead put in his override code. The door opened and he stepped inside. Ren wasn’t sitting in the front area of his quarters so Hux walked into his bedroom and froze in the doorway.

He didn’t know what he expected, but seeing Ren curled up and fast asleep was not it. He looked so calm and peaceful, more than Hux had ever seen him. Even more strange was what he was using as a blanket. Ren moved quickly and sat up on one elbow and looked at Hux.

“What are you doing with my coat?” 

As he asked the question, Ren was slowly starting to sit up and his coat fell from where it covered him, revealing that he wore a sleeveless shirt. Hux tried not to think about Ren wearing less than that. He didn’t want to think about him at all. 

“It gets cold,” he muttered. The coat had fallen completely off of him, but Hux refused to look at his body, refused to think of what was about to happen. “What do you want?”

“You’re the one who told me to come,” Hux said, feeling a bit angry at the question. Why would he ask such a thing? “Can we please get this over with?”

“That’s really why you came?”

Did he want him to say he wanted to have sex? If so, he was going to be disappointed as Hux would tell him nothing but the truth. “I came here with the intention of following orders, whatever those may be. So here I am, Ren. What do you want me to do?”

He expected Ren to order him to take off his clothes or do something completely humiliating. He was not expecting Ren to simply sit there, staring at him. Hopefully he wasn’t deciding on the worst possible thing he could do. Hux tried not to think about any of the worst case scenarios he’d come up with earlier. He was going to do whatever Ren wanted and hope that he didn’t harm him too badly.

“Come here,” Ren said eventually. 

Hux took a step towards him, and then another. He knew he’d have to get closer, but Ren wasn’t specific, so he stopped in a place where Ren would have to move to reach him. With each step, he could feel himself getting more and more nervous. He knew dragging it out was only going to make things worse, but he couldn’t be enthusiastic about it. When Ren patted the bed, Hux hesitated. He didn’t want to go any closer, but he had little choice, so he sat down on the edge, watching Ren closely, wondering what he would do.

“Breathe,” Ren said. His voice was too gentle for this situation. So was his face. Hux wished he had his mask so he didn’t have to see his face while they did this. 

“I thought you hated the mask.”

“Ren, I’ve agreed to let you do whatever you want to me, but please, if you can’t stop reading my mind, can you stop responding to things I’m thinking?” 

“I could teach you to guard yourself better,” he said. “I usually don’t sense anything from you, but right now, it’s nonstop.”

“Well, then you already have my answer.” He wanted Ren to stop talking and get it over with. The longer he stayed there with Ren, the more he really thought he was going to be sick. Maybe if he was running to the refresher to throw up, he could get away. He could go to the refresher, make a mess and then bolt for the door. Almost as soon as he thought about it, Ren grabbed his hand. He expected a crushing grip, but instead, he just held his hand. 

“Were you really going to go through with this?”

“We’ve established this already.”

“Sorry. It’s just… you’re stressed.”

Hux couldn’t help himself - he choked out a laugh. Of course he was stressed. What did he expect with the order he was given? He didn’t even bother responding to that. Maybe if he stopped talking, Ren would speed things along.

“You don’t need to worry, Hux,” Ren said softly as he started to rub a thumb cross the back of his hand. Hux thought he might actually prefer Ren when he was angry instead of this false gentleness he was currently fixed on. “I’m not going to do anything to you. Not unless you want to.”

It took a moment for Hux to realize what Ren was saying. He hadn’t actually planned on having sex? He gave him the order, left him stressed the entire day, and for what? To act like he was being nice? He’d always hated Ren and it wasn’t the first time he’d wanted him dead, but it was the first time he wanted to kill him purely because he hated the man.

“Why would you do this?” Hux stood up and pulled his hand away from Ren. “It’s twisted, even for you!”

“Wait, you’re mad about this?”

“Yes, I’m mad! I spent the entire day a complete mess because of you! You made me agree to allow you to have your way with me or lose everything I have worked for in my life! Fuck you, Ren.”

He didn’t care what pathetic excuse he had. No excuse would be acceptable. He started to walk away, wanting nothing more than to get back to his own quarters and stay there until his next shift.

“Hux, wait.” He should have ignored him and kept walking, but he found himself turning around. Maybe Ren had influenced him with the Force. “I didn’t know. How you felt about all this. I didn’t think you’d even show up.”

“Of course you only read my mind when it’s convenient for you!” Not that he should have needed to read his mind - Hux had told him no and Ren had refused to accept that.

“I’m not reading your mind!” Ren shouted. “Next time, I just won’t change my mind! Is that better?”

Hux didn’t even think about what he was doing. Ren was so infuriating and acting like little more than a spoiled child and Hux had enough. He’d been assaulted and threatened and Ren deserved a little of his own medicine. Still, when Hux’s fist actually hit Ren, he was surprised. He’d never struck him before and knew it was probably a fatal mistake.

He remained where he was, watching Ren and waiting for him to retaliate, but he just stared back. Maybe he was taken off guard as well. As long as he was still alive, he might as well do what he could to keep it that way. He turned and walked away as quick as he could without running. He didn’t know what he was going to do, or even how long it would take for Ren to react. But he at least could attempt to escape.


	4. Chapter 4

Hux couldn’t believe it when he’d made it into the ship’s corridor, and as he walked towards his quarters, he kept expecting to find himself frozen in place or hear the sound of a lightsaber behind him. But he made it to his quarters without incident and when he glanced down the hallway, he saw that Ren wasn’t even there.

He didn’t think too much about why Ren hadn’t come after him. Whatever his reasons were didn’t matter. All Hux knew was that he had a chance to survive and he was going to take it. Getting away from Ren had been the first step, but he wasn’t quite sure what the second was. He’d just punched the Supreme Leader and he was certain Ren would kill him for it.

The fact that he didn’t already was probably a good sign. Perhaps Ren was in a rational mood. If he was, then Hux could reason with him and convince him to spare his life. Maybe if he agreed to have sex with him in exchange for his life, that would be enough. Hux shuddered at the thought. If he was going to sleep with him, he didn’t want it to be like that. And there was no guarantee that Ren wouldn’t get what he wanted and then kill him anyway.

Hux knew he didn’t have much of a choice. He could either face whatever punishment - likely death - that Ren had in mind or he could run. He’d never considered leaving the First Order before, but he had very little choice. As long as he survived, there was a chance for him to take back what was his. And that was his third option. He could stage a coup. He’d been thinking about it but it was far too soon for that. If he was going to take over the Order someday, first he’d need to live long enough.

He sat down at his desk and set his blaster next to his datapad. It wouldn’t stop Ren, but if he came through his door, he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Getting off the _Finalizer_ would be easy enough and he pulled one of the work shuttles off the schedule for some maintenance. His only problem was that he didn’t know where to go. He could try going to another ship, but Ren would know where he’d gone. He also couldn’t think of any commanders who wouldn’t jump at the chance to send him to his death.

Leaving First Order space would be dangerous, as surely someone would recognize him and turn him in. But staying had it’s own dangers. And they might actually be looking for him. No one would expect General Hux to be hiding on a planet in the Republic. Still, he hated the idea of being in enemy territory.

As he was trying to find the best place to hide, he remembered a bottle of gin that he had in his desk. There was no time like facing certain death or exile, so he took it out and started drinking straight from the bottle. Altering his state of mind probably wasn’t the best idea, but at the same time, he knew he couldn’t win in a straight out fight against Ren. Maybe it would hurt a little less if he were drunk.

With that thought in mind, he continued drinking until he felt drowsy. He still had no idea where he would run to, but that would be a problem that he could solve after a quick nap. Some part of him realized he might not ever wake up, but he was too drink to care.

 

When Hux woke up, he felt terrible, and for a brief moment, he couldn’t quite remember why. Then he remembered how much he had drank. More importantly, he remembered why. Cursing, he got up in a hurry, ignoring the pain in his head. Ren hadn’t bothered to kill him in his sleep, but Hux didn’t think he’d be any less angry. He didn’t seem like the type who would let things go.

Realizing he needed to get off the ship, he contacted the bridge to inform them that he had a special assignment from the Supreme Leader and would be gone for an unknown length of time. He knew Ren wouldn’t check any logs or communications so he wouldn’t find out until he directly asked someone where he’d gone. And he knew that no one else in the First Order would volunteer any information to him or ask about the assignment, so it would buy him some time at least. 

He went to his closet to change his uniform since his was wrinkled from sleeping in it but he quickly decided it wasn’t worth the time. If he was really going to leave, then he didn’t need to worry about looking his best. And he needed to get off the ship before Ren found him.

He headed down to the hangar, hoping that no one noticed his disarray. Even if he never saw them again, he didn’t like the idea of anyone seeing him in such a state. Once he made it to the shuttle, he climbed inside and went to the cockpit. He’d only ever flown in simulators before but looking at the controls, he decided that he could figure it out. Just as long as he had a destination in mind.

And that was still his problem. He had no idea where he was going to go. There was no one he could turn to for help, he had no allies outside of the Order. He stared at the shuttles controls, wondering if maybe he could just pick a place at random and take things from there, but the thought of not having a plan was more terrifying than having to face Ren. 

The more he thought about it, he started wondering if facing Ren might not be so bad. Maybe Ren would simply punch him back and he could stay with the First Order. He’d been with them his entire life and he couldn’t believe he was going to have to run from it because of Ren. He should have just agreed to sleep with the man and then it all could have been avoided. Or he should have just left when Ren said he could.

He wasn’t sure if he hated Ren or himself more in that moment. The entire situation was Ren’s fault, but Hux had opportunities to keep things from getting so bad. His mind kept going back to when Ren propositioned him. He should have agreed. And not only because it would have allowed him to avoid his situation, but he really did want to sleep with him. He’d simply been unprepared and he hated the fact that it had been Ren’s idea.

And now he was going to lose everything he’d worked for because of Ren. He’d never truly been alone. Even at the Academy and as a young officer when it was kill or be killed, he had others around. And he didn’t mind that his friend might kill him because he knew that he would do the same. But leaving on the shuttle would mean being completely alone, with no one to even notice if he did die.

There was only one place he could think of to run to, but as soon as that idea crossed his mind, he knew it was worse than anything else he could have come up with. He left the cockpit and returned to the passenger area of the shuttle and slumped down on one of the seats. If he was considering defecting to the Resistance, he knew that he must really be losing his mind.

Of course, he couldn’t help but wonder if they’d take him. He would certainly have information, but if he were in their position, he’d execute him. It crossed his mind that they did things a little differently there. They took defected stormtroopers. They might take a general as well. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what life in the Resistance would be like and he really didn’t want to. He’d be better off on his own, just as soon as he figured out where to go.

He didn’t sleep well and so he found himself starting to doze off. Every time his head started to slowly fall forward, he’d jerk it back up and have a few seconds of alertness before he’d start to feel drowsy again. The shuttle was relatively safe and it wasn’t as if anyone would look for him there, so he decided a few minutes of sleep wouldn’t hurt. And maybe a little rest was just what he needed to finally figure out just what he was going to do.

When he woke up, it was because someone had lowered the boarding ramp. At first, he didn’t see anyone and thought there might be some kind of malfunction, but then he saw Ren walking up the ramp. He was on his feet immediately and tried to back away, but he only hit the wall. There was no where for him to run. He waited for Ren to reach out with the Force or take his lightsaber and cut him down, but instead, he pulled out his comm and gave an order to someone - Hux wasn’t sure who but it didn’t matter.

“This is as good a place as any if you’re going to kill me,” he said. He really didn’t want Ren to drag him out in front of anyone else and make it a public ordeal. Knowing Ren, he wanted the dramatics. 

“Like I’ve said, I really don’t want to hurt you.” That was something Hux had a hard time believing. All Ren did was hurt him. “What are you doing here? Did you have some kind of plan or were you just hiding?”

“Ren, I’m really not in the mood for this. Just do whatever you’re going to do.” The last thing he wanted was for Ren to drag things out. If he was going to kill him, he wanted it to be done with quickly. If not, then Hux just wanted him to leave.

Ren took a step towards him and he automatically reached for his blaster without thinking. It was hard to do anything else with Ren coming towards him. Before he could actually grab his weapon, he found that his arm was frozen and he knew exactly what Ren was doing. To his surprise, his other arm was free and that was the side where he had a blade hidden. If Ren wasn’t going to be smart enough to hold him down, he might as well try to strike him again while he still lived. When Ren was close enough, he dropped the blade into his hand and swiped at him. 

Unfortunately, Ren was fast and dodged it while also pushing him away. He thought about trying to attack him again, but now that Ren was aware of his hidden weapon, it wouldn’t do much good. He knew he’d simply find himself unable to move.

“Do you really want to fight me? You know you can’t possibly win.”

“I don’t have anything to lose.” Hux knew he could win in a straight fight. Even without his powers, Ren was stronger and more experienced in combat, but there was no reason not to try drawing some blood on his way down.

“Hux, put the knife down and listen,” Ren ordered, but Hux kept a firm grip on the weapon, ready to strike. “I’m not here to kill you. I’m not throwing you in the brig and I wasn’t even planning on demoting you. And… Hux, seriously, why are you still holding the knife?”

“Because I don’t trust you!” He couldn’t believe he even had to say it out loud. “You can say whatever you like, but how can I possibly believe a word you say? You tell me that you don’t want to hurt me, but every chance you get, you choke me or throw me into a wall. You tell me that I have to degrade myself or lose everything, and then tell me you never meant it. So why should I believe you now?”

Ren looked surprised at those words and even a little ashamed. That wasn’t what Hux expected. He thought Ren would throw him around some more. But Hux wasn’t quite ready to put his knife down yet.

“Hux, you’re smarter than this,” Ren said softly. “If you attack me, you know you can’t win. You’ve seen what I can do. But there is a chance I’m telling you the truth. Think, Hux. If I really wanted to hurt you, don’t you think I’d have done it by now?”

Hux knew Ren was right. He could have easily killed him already, and he still could whether he had the knife or not. But he didn’t move for several moments, partially because he knew Ren didn’t like him holding the knife, but also because he wanted to make sure he was doing it on his own and not being controlled by Ren. Finally, he put it back in his sleeve.

“So what now?” he asked. “We go back to normal and pretend this never happened?”

“Yes,” Ren replied, obviously missing that Hux hadn’t been serious about that suggestion, although he really couldn’t complain. “But first, you need to rest. I suspect you haven’t had any real sleep in some time. And maybe give those bruises time to heal.”

Hux resisted the urge to pull his uniform closed to hide the bruises. It didn’t really matter if Ren saw them. He was the cause of all of them anyway, and maybe since he was in a forgiving mood, he might even feel bad about it. Hux doubted it, and he certainly didn’t feel bad about the bruise he left on Ren’s face.

“Mine can be hidden,” he said. At least all his bruises were underneath his uniform. “How do you plan on hiding yours without your mask?”

“Hiding what?”

“The black eye.”

“It’s too late for that,” Ren said with a shrug. “Let’s get you back to your quarters.”

Ren turned and walked down the ramp and for a brief moment, Hux considered shooting him. It might actually work, but he suspected Ren would manage to stop him. And Ren had been rather nice to him so far and Hux decided he might as well see how long that would last for. He followed Ren out of the shuttle and then they walked in silence through the ship’s corridors. They didn’t speak until they were close to his quarters.

“What were you doing down there?” Ren asked. “You must have had some kind of plan.”

“Not really.” He didn’t want to tell Ren that he’d planned on running away or that he’d even briefly considered defecting. “I didn’t think I’d make it out of the door and then I kept expecting you to show up and cut me in half. I really didn’t know what I was going to do.”

“You really thought I’d kill you?”

“You’ve choked me and thrown me into walls just for being inconvenient. What should I expect? If nothing else, you’re very moody and unpredictable.” He knew he shouldn’t have said that last part, but he just couldn’t help himself.

“That’s fair, I suppose,” he said quietly. Hux was surprised that he took that criticism so well and he wondered what else he might get away with since he seemed to be in such a good mood. He didn’t have a chance to try anything because they had arrived at his door, which opened on his own. Hux hesitated but then went inside. Before he could close the door, Ren followed him in.

Hux looked at him, waiting for him to explain what he was doing there. He couldn’t imagine that Ren would have convinced him to walk back from the shuttle just to kill him in his own quarters. But Ren remained silent and just watched him.

“Well,” Hux said, “you’ve walked me back to my quarters. Is there something else you need?”

“Hux.” He said his name and then fell silent again. Hux was just about to walk away from him when he spoke again. “When was the last time you ate? Or slept?”

He couldn’t remember exactly when he’d eaten last. He knew it had to have been more than a day ago, but he did remember the last time he slept. “I fell asleep while waiting for you to come kill me.”

“Passing out drunk doesn’t count. You need to take care of yourself.”

He wanted to ask Ren why he cared because he was just going to be tossed around until Ren finally killed him one day. Why did it matter if he was sleep-deprived or not when it happened. “I’m fine,” he said instead. “And there’s too much for me to do. I’ve -”

“The only think you need to do is rest. I’ll take care of everything else.”

“You?” Hux scoffed. “I doubt you could take care of yourself. The last thing you should be doing is taking control on the bridge. I can rest after I get my work done.” 

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re taking a day off. I’m ordering you to do so.”

“Fine,” he said, with a slight shrug. “I won’t leave me quarters. Are you happy?”

“Not quite,” he said as he walked over to his desk. Hux shouted at him when he took his lightsaber from his belt, but he had no time to try to stop him before he ran the blade through his datapad. 

“Ren!” Hux shouted at him, staring at the smoldering remains on his desk. “Did you have to destroy it? Couldn’t you just have taken it if you’re so determined to keep me from work?” Of course Ren wouldn’t think of a normal solution to a problem. He only seemed to be able to destroy things.

“I didn’t think of that,” he said with a smile. “I’ll make sure it’s replaced. But you should rest.”

Ren walked over to him and before he could ask what he was doing, he started to remove his uniform. It took Hux several moments to process what was happening, and when he did, he pushed Kylo’s hands away and stepped away from him. “I don’t need assistance,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Ren asked as he closed the distance between them again. Hux resisted the urge to back away again. At least Ren kept his hands to himself. “You’re not taking anything off.”

Realizing he would have to prove to the Supreme Leader that he intended on resting, he walked over to his bed and sat down so he could take his boots off. He knew that wouldn’t be enough, but he looked up, hoping Ren might leave, but he just stood there, watching him. He briefly debated whether it would be worth it to put up a fight over it, but he really was tired, so he removed his outer layers so he was left in just his underclothes.

He really didn’t like being exposed to Ren, especially since he couldn’t help but think about how the situation started - with Ren propositioning him. And now he was sitting nearly naked in front of him. But when he looked at Ren, he didn’t seem like he was getting ready to attack him.

“That’s better,” he said. He took a step towards him and Hux was just about to stand up and tell him to get out of his quarters, but Ren raised a hand and the last thing Hux thought was that he needed to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

When Hux woke up, he felt so well rested that he almost forgot what had happened. He very rarely slept for more than a couple hours, usually relying on caf to keep himself alert throughout the day. Waking up feeling alert and rested was strange, but it was rather nice. But because Ren had made him go to sleep, Hux was angry about it.

He started to get out of bed, wanting to find Ren and tell him to never use his tricks on him like that again. He’d seen him do it to others before, but he’d never been on the receiving end of that particular trick and he hoped he never would be again. Before he got out of bed, he realized he had a blanket covering him. The only one who could have done that was Ren.

Instead of tracking Ren down to tell him what he thought of his sorcery, he found himself frozen in place, thinking about Ren’s strange actions since he’d punched him. He wasn’t angry like Hux expected, but instead, he’d been the exact opposite. He’d been nice. Gentle, even.

If he’d wanted to, he could have easily pulled him out of that shuttle by force. It would have been no effort for Ren. But he’d talked calmly with him, which was unusual on its own. And then he’d insisted he rest and he’d made sure that he actually would. Ren had told him that he needed to take care of himself. He’d never heard Ren talk like that, nor had he believed that Ren was capable of caring about anyone besides himself.

Ren must be up to something, but Hux couldn’t think what he hoped to gain by being nice to him. They managed to work together just fine while hating each other, and now that Ren was Supreme Leader, he could simply order Hux around. He didn’t need anything from him. Not unless he wanted sex.

That made sense. Ren had been angry about the rejection and ordered him to sleep with him. At some point, he must have decided against that plan. And now he seemed to be trying to win him over by being nice to him. That was definitely unexpected, but Hux decided that it wasn’t unwelcome. He didn’t think Ren would manage to keep up the act for very long, but it certainly was a nice change.

And it gave him a second chance to actually take him up on his offer.

He wasn’t going to just jump at the chance, but maybe he could make Ren work for it a little bit. And then he’d see that being nice to him worked and he just might continue that. Hux knew that was ridiculous. With his temper, Ren couldn’t possibly go very long without lashing out at him. But it would be nice to see him try. And even if it did nothing to change his behavior, Hux might at least get some decent sex out of it.

Thinking he would go talk to Ren and see what kind of mood he was in, he got up to get his datapad, but then he saw its remains on his desk. He’d forgotten that Ren had destroyed it. Maybe being nice really wasn’t his intention. Still, there was no other explanation for his behavior. He couldn’t contact Ren, but he was supposed to be resting anyway. 

Not having much else to do, he took a shower, but didn’t put his uniform on. He didn’t really have anywhere to go. Taking a day off wasn’t something he did, so he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. He would have liked to at least go through reports on his datapad, but Ren had taken that option from him. 

Because he had time, he polished his boots, taking his time to make sure they were perfect. He always made sure they were clean, but now he really had the time to dedicate to it. That task didn’t eat up as much time as he’d hoped, and once it was done, he took his blaster out. He might as well clean that as well. Before he could do anything with that, his door buzzed.

No one would be coming to his quarters. If anyone needed him for something, they would send a message. But maybe since he’d been unable to respond, someone had grown desperate enough to come to his door. Ren was the only one who would bother him in person before sending a message, but he would just barge in. He didn’t want to spend time getting dressed just to see who was at his door, so he went to grab his greatcoat when he realized he didn’t have it. Cursing Ren, he threw on a bathrobe and opened the door to see a droid with a tray of food.

That wasn’t what he expected, but he took the food. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until it was right in front of him. He started eating without thought as to where it came from or whether or not it might be poisoned. His first thought was to run to the refresher and make himself throw up, but he knew it must have come from Ren and Ren had no reason to poison him. He had far easier ways of dispatching him. With that comforting thought, he returned to his meal.

When he’d finished eating, he returned his attention to his blaster. Because he rarely had to use it, the outside remained in perfect condition, but when he had the time, he liked to make sure the insides were still working well and he had nothing but time at the moment. He disassembled it and put the parts before him on the table. Everything was clean, but he went through and cleaned it all again. Just as he was getting ready to start putting it back together, his door opened.

Hux knew exactly who it was before he walked in, because Ren was the only person who walked into places unannounced like that. He barely even looked up at him, but he suddenly felt the need to get his weapon put back together as soon as possible.

“Did you bring a replacement datapad?” he asked as he began putting things back together.

“You’re not allowed to work yet.”

“Does that mean I don’t have to deal with you either?” he said under his breath. He couldn’t help saying it, even though he’d planned on being a little nicer to Ren, just to see where that might lead. But just like Ren couldn’t help but be violent, Hux couldn’t help but ask questions that would provoke him.

“I told everyone that you almost died,” he said. Hux glanced back up at him, surprised he’d remained calm, but he quickly returned his attention to his task and Ren continued talking. “That’s why you weren’t on the bridge. I didn’t know if you made up any details about your mission yesterday, so I didn’t say anything about that.”

“And everyone believed you?” Hux knew that if someone had been missing and Ren came in saying they had almost died, he would suspect something was up, and he liked to think his subordinates would be suspicious as well. At least some of them were intelligent people.

“I am the Supreme Leader,” Ren said. “They weren’t going to question me. Peavey didn’t believe me, though. He might ask you about it.”

“That’s not surprising.” He’d finished putting the blaster back together and was looking it over in his hands. For once, he wasn’t imagining seeing Ren in its sights, but Peavey. “I’ve always suspected he didn’t like me.”

“He doesn’t. He thinks you’re an incompetent fool.”

Hux looked at him as he realized something for the first time. Ren’s mind reading powers really were quite useful, just as long as he wasn’t the one on the receiving end. He’d never considered what those powers might be used for, but he’d never had anything Ren would want that he could use as a trade. He might not even be asking Ren to do anything special - just to share the information he already had.

“Do you read everyone’s mind, or are some of us just special?”

“I’ve told you, I don’t really do that,” Ren said, shaking his head. “I can feel certain things from people, and some people are better at hiding their thoughts and feelings than others. You’re usually very hard to read, but some people, I can’t be in the same room without knowing everything they’re feeling or thinking.”

That wasn’t a helpful answer. If Ren couldn’t actually control his abilities, then it was mostly useless for him. But he knew Ren had to have some kind of control over it. “But you can read someone’s mind. I’ve seen your interrogations. But can you do it without them knowing?”

He doubted that Ren cared too much how the prisoners felt while they were being interrogated, because from what he could tell, it was rather painful. That wouldn’t work for what Hux had in mind, but he didn’t think he’d ever felt anything when Ren read his mind. Although if he were to believed, perhaps he’d never actually tried.

“Sure,” Ren said. “But it depends on what I’m looking for and how strong their mind is. I would guess I couldn’t get much from you without you knowing. You want me to try?”

“Stay out of my head,” he said quickly. That was the last thing he wanted. “If I wanted you to use your powers on someone else, is there anyway I could convince you to do so?”

“You want me to read the minds of your enemies?” He looked amused at that and Hux thought he might refuse. But he hadn’t planned on giving nothing in return.

“Yes,” he said. He stood and walked over to him. He paused, making sure he really wanted to go through with it. He’d thought he’d make Ren work for it, but if he could get information, it’d be worth it to give Ren what he wanted. He reached out and touched his hand and wrist. “There are things I could do for you in return.”

Ren didn’t move. He just stood there, staring down at where Hux was touching him. Hux didn’t know if that was a good sign or not, but he hadn’t been shoved away, so he very gently started rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb, waiting for him to respond.

“Hux, I…” When he finally started to speak, he didn’t seem to know what to say. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this.”

“Don’t think too hard, Ren,” he said. He almost said that he’d hurt himself since he wasn’t used to thinking, but instead, he grabbed Ren and kissed him. 

He hadn’t even thought about it before doing it, and it wasn’t until he had his lips on Ren’s that he was fully aware of just what he was doing. Sleeping with Ren was one thing, but kissing him was different. He might make him think that he cared. It was too late to go back, but Ren didn’t even seem to notice, as he was just standing there, completely still. Wanting some kind of reaction from him, Hux gently nibbled on his lower lip. 

Finally, Ren reacted. He kissed him back and wrapped his arms around him and started to lean on him. Even though Ren was still standing, just having him lean on him told Hux just how big he was. He put his arms around his neck and started pulling Ren towards the bed. He moved easily and when they made it to the bed, Hux turned him so he could push him back on the bed. He wasn’t quite ready to have Ren on top of him.

Once he had Ren sitting, Hux climbed on top of him and took his belt off, which allowed him to slide a hand up under his tunic. He was warm, much warmer than Hux expected. Perhaps that was why he wore all those layers. Hux brought his other hand up to touch Ren’s face and he leaned against him. At least he was responsive. He almost wished it would be enough just to kiss him and touch him, but he knew exactly what Ren wanted and he was going to give that to him.

“Wait, Hux, stop.” Ren grabbed him by the wrists and pushed him away.

“What?” Hux couldn’t believe Ren was stopping him. He knew that he wanted it and he’d clearly been enjoying it.

“Do you really want to do this?”

“Would I be here if I didn’t?” It was true - Hux wanted it. He’d wanted it for a long time. But actually sleeping with Ren and touching him and kissing him was very different than just thinking about it. 

“It was only a few days ago when you said you’d never even consider sleeping with me. You really didn’t want to the other day in my quarters.”

“Yes, well, now it’s on my terms,” Hux said. He didn’t think he needed to explain that now he was going to get something out of it. Considering what Ren had ordered him to do, Hux was surprised that he cared. “And since when do you even care about anyone else?”

“I…” Ren started to talk but Hux had started to remove his tunic and now had his hand on Ren’s chest. Ren looked down at his hand. “Um, Hux? Don’t you think we should talk about this?”

“What’s there to talk about?” Hux didn’t know why Ren was so hesitant so he decided he’d try to hurry things along and reached for the front of his pants. He wanted to get it over with before Ren changed his mind, but he thought he should at least give him an easy way out. “If you don’t want to have sex, just say so.”

“It’s not that. But the Force. You feel. I don’t know. Scared, almost.”

“It takes more than this to scare me.” He knew it was true - he was scared. If Ren was going to be distracted by that, then Hux knew he’d need to hurry. He couldn’t help his fear. He was about to sleep with Kylo Ren, who was unstable and violent, and letting himself be that vulnerable with him was terrifying.

“Hux.” Ren tried to get his attention again, but Hux was too busy trying to take his pants off. He started to move away, but Hux wasn’t sure if he was trying to take his pants off or just trying to get away. Not caring to question it, Hux pulled on his pants, leaving them around his knees. 

“Wait!” Ren said loudly, but Hux ignored him and continued pulling his pants off. “Hux! I’m… I’ve never done this before! I…”

Hux immediately stopped and looked up at Ren. That wasn’t what he’d expected to hear at all, yet it didn’t surprise him. He couldn’t help but smile at the idea of Ren being a virgin. For a brief moment, Hux almost felt bad for having been so pushy, but Ren had done far worse to him. If he had made Ren uncomfortable, then he deserved it. “Really? Ren, are you scared?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to stop?” Hux didn’t even mean to ask that, but if Ren didn’t want to continue, then Hux would stop and hopefully, Ren wouldn’t bring it up again. But he shook his head in response.

“No,” Ren said. “But. I sense something from you. Like you don’t want to do this.”

Wanting Ren to stop focusing on that, Hux grabbed his hand and put it over his shorts so Ren could feel how aroused he was. If he could get him to focus on the physical instead of what was going on in his head, then they could get it over with. “Maybe your powers can’t tell you everything,” Hux told him. “I’m prepared to keep going. But if you want me to stop, I will.”

He let go of Ren’s hand so he could move away if he decided he didn’t want him, but he kept his hand on him. Hux tried not to think too much about it, as that would surely make Ren change his mind. If only he would actually listen and stay out of his head. When Ren finally did move, Hux thought he would tell him to leave, but instead, he started taking off his remaining clothing. Hux did the same and then started kissing Ren’s body. 

It wasn’t quite what he’d imagined sex with Ren would be like. He’d always imagined that the both of them would walk away sore and bruised, but knowing that it was Ren’s first time, Hux decided he might as well make it feel good. And maybe he’d get everything he wanted from him. Even if the sex wasn’t great, it still might be worth it.

Hux got a bottle of lube and returned to the bed, climbing in Ren’s lap. When he did, Ren pushed up against his ass, clearly eager. Maybe he wanted to get things over with as quickly as possible too. “Not quite yet,” Hux said. “Let me just stretch myself open just a bit.”

He put a generous amount of lube on his fingers before reaching behind himself and pushing a finger inside himself. Ren put his arms around him and moved him so he was laying down on the bed, and for a brief moment, Hux thought Ren might hurt him. Either intentionally or accidentally. It would have been easy given how bulky Ren was compared to him. But he sat back and watched as Hux inserted a second finger.

Looking at Ren’s cock, he knew he really needed to give himself some time to stretch himself, but he hated the way Ren was staring at him. It wasn’t comfortable, but he very quickly put a third finger in and opened up his hole. Ren’s cock was even larger and he wasn’t ready, but he really just wanted to get things over with as soon as possible. 

“Are you ready, Ren?” He expected Ren to be on him immediately, but he didn’t move and just kept staring at his ass. “Ren!”

That got his attention and he snapped his gaze up to Hux’s face and he Hux thought he looked lost. He sighed, realizing he shouldn’t have snapped at him. He sat up and took Kylo by the arm, pulling him towards him. He moved easily and Hux put his arms around him and kissed him gently. This was definitely not how he imagined things would go. 

He grabbed the lube and slicked up Ren’s cock before giving him another kiss and laying down on the bed, pulling Ren along with him. Hux had one hand on Ren’s cock and with the other, he gently stroked the side of his face. Ren rubbed his cheek against his hand, and the softness of that action took Hux by surprise. 

“Ren,” he said gently, holding his cock at his entrance. He didn’t want to spend the entire night with Ren nuzzling his hand, which is what he suspected might happen if he didn’t get him to focus. 

As Ren started to push in, Hux did his best to relax, sure that Ren would simply shove his cock inside. But he must have been in a very gentle mood, because he went slow. It was uncomfortable since he hadn’t given himself time to properly stretch himself, but it wasn’t painful. 

Once Ren was fully inside him, he held still for several moments. When he finally started to move, he was slow, which Hux appreciated. It may not have been anywhere near his fantasies, but he never would have thought Ren could be capable of being so gentle. And although it was far from the best sex he’d ever had, it wasn’t the worst either and Hux soon found himself reaching for his cock and stroking himself off.

For a moment, he completely forgot who was fucking him. Finally being free of the fear that Ren would end up killing him, Hux came, making a mess of his stomach. Ren didn’t take much longer and Hux felt his come filling his ass as he gave a few more gentle thrusts. Ren laid down on top of him and started kissing him. Hux really wished he would just leave, but he let him kiss him, remembering that he was getting something out of their deal as well.

When Ren finally moved, he rolled off to the side and held him in his arms. Somehow, having Ren hold him and cuddle him was far more awkward than anything they had just done. Hux’s instinct was to get up and leave, but instead, he stayed there, letting Ren hold him and kiss his neck. Ren was rather comfortable, and he even thought that it might be nice to fall asleep in his arms.

Hux quickly realized what a terrible idea that was and knew he had to get Ren out of his bed.

“How many of my people will you check?”

“What?” Ren sat up slightly and looked down at him, and Hux wondered if he’d even heard him, but then he saw the realization cross his face. “Oh. I don’t know. Depends on how difficult they are.”

“I suppose I should have negotiated that before. Next time, then.” He hadn’t really been thinking too much about Ren’s side of the deal. He’d only wanted to make up for the lost opportunity and get him in bed.

Ren fully sat up and looked at him. Having nothing else to say, Hux simply stared back at him. Then Ren got up and started dressing quickly. Hux watched him as he did and he noticed that Ren didn’t even look back at him. Instead, he ran our of the room as soon as he had his clothes on. Hux suspected that he’d hurt his feelings, but that wasn't his problem.


	6. Chapter 6

After sleeping with Ren, life seemed to return to normal. No one questioned his absence and their planned diplomatic mission was going ahead as planned. The only thing that Hux noticed was that Ren seemed to be avoiding him. Every time he saw him, he only seemed to speak to him as much as necessary and then took off. If Hux was honest, it was nice not having Ren as an annoyance, although he knew something was wrong. It was the exact opposite reaction he’d expected from Ren.

He was fairly certain he’d hurt Ren’s feelings when he asked about his end of their deal. That had been the goal, after all. Hurt his feelings and get him out of his bed before Hux could get too comfortable with the situation. Still, he’d thought Ren would be pestering him to have sex again or attempting to show affection in inappropriate places. Instead, the only thing Ren had said about it was to ask for a list of people he wanted checked, which Hux sent. A few hours later, Ren responded with a report on who wasn’t entirely loyal to him and he’d never heard another word about it.

Hux really didn’t know what to think about Ren’s strange behavior. On one hand, he liked not dealing with him. But he also couldn’t help but be somewhat offended. Had Ren not enjoyed himself? With the way he was cuddling up to him after, Hux thought he certainly must have. And it wasn’t as if Ren could judge him as an inadequate lover, seeing as how he hadn’t had any experience. He really wanted to talk to him and find out what his problem was, but he didn’t want Ren to know he cared. He was even careful not to think about it in Ren’s presence lest he read his mind.

It was probably for the best if Hux just let thing go, but he had imagined a relationship with Ren where he would perform sexual favors and then Hux could get whatever he wanted. It was a perfect situation for him, because he did want more of Ren. As terrifying as the thought of any sort of relationship with Ren was, Hux wanted it. 

He thought he might have the chance to talk to him on the way to their meeting, as they’d be in the shuttle together. But instead of sitting in the passenger area with him, Ren simply walked into the cockpit and closed the door. Hux barely even got a glimpse of his new uniform. He’d picked the design so he knew what it looked like, but he’d been looking forward to seeing it on Ren. 

It wasn’t a long trip from the _Finalizer_ to the space station where they would be meeting the planetary leaders and Ren spent the entire time in the cockpit. That meant Hux didn’t have a chance to go over their plan with him. When they landed, Ren walked past him without so much as looking at him. Hux hoped Ren at least read the notes and didn’t end up doing or saying anything disastrous.

They met with representatives from the planets of Kestri, Sparver, Aplo III, and Feromalis. All four systems had been a part of the First Order for a very long time, and Hux didn’t blame them for being concerned about the sudden change in leadership. At least they didn’t know anything about Ren’s temperament and Hux planned on keeping it that way. If word got around that the new Supreme Leader was little more than an unstable child, they could lose many of their systems.

When they made it into the room and took their seats, Ren didn’t immediately cause a crisis or say much of anything at all. Hux thought that maybe he had read the briefing notes he’d sent, as Hux had wrote in there that he should speak as little as possible. The meeting began and Hux assured them that the transition had been smooth and that Ren had his full support, as well as the support of the rest of High Command. It wasn’t exactly true, but there was no coup currently in the works.

Of course, they did eventually want to talk to Ren and Hux held his breath as he addressed them, waiting for him to slip up and do something wrong. Hux didn’t think he’d ever heard him express himself so well. It was almost like listening to a politician’s speech. Ren said all the right things and Hux was actually impressed. After how much he whined about the meeting in the first place, he’d expected him to make his displeasure known.

In the end, all four leaders said they could expect their continued support. Hux suspected they still had some reservations, but as long as none of them caused any trouble, they could be won over in time. There were more important things for Hux to worry about, and once they were on their way back to their shuttle, Hux put them out of his mind.

“Supreme Leader,” Hux said before Ren could disappear into the cockpit again. This would be the best opportunity to talk to him since he couldn’t easily walk away. “Could I have a word with you?”

Ren stood there, staring at him for several moments with a frown and Hux thought he might find himself thrown into the wall, but then he nodded. With him standing there, Hux finally got a decent look at him and could see that it looked just as good as he’d expected. It looked similar to a First Order uniform but with red and gold trim and a red-lined cape. He loved the way the military-style uniform looked on him, but he couldn’t help but imagining taking it off.

“Your outfit is very impressive,” Hux said, trying to push those sorts of thoughts out of his mind. The last thing he needed was Ren picking up on that. “You’d look good in a uniform.”

“I doubt you only wanted to compliment my clothes.”

Hux had hoped being nice to him would make things easier, but clearly, Ren was still upset with him. That was fine with Hux. He’d rather get the conversation over with anyway.

“Have you been avoiding me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I talk to you every single day. I couldn’t avoid you if I wanted to.”

“Do you want to?” That was probably the better question, because he had seen Ren. But he still seemed like he wanted to stay as far away from him as possible. Ren didn’t answer the question and looked away from him, and that was all Hux needed to know. “Is there a reason for that?”

He waited for Ren to answer the question, but he remained silent. It wasn’t hard for Hux to realize exactly what the problem was, even if Ren wouldn’t say it. It wasn’t what he wanted, but he’d have to see if he could find a way to make things work with Ren. If fucking him to have a better relationship wouldn’t work, surely there had to be something else.

“Right,” he said with a sigh. “Of course you’re not going to say anything. I’ll just have to assume I was very disappointing in bed, because that’s right when this all started. I’m sorry it wasn’t what you wanted. I need another favor from you, but if you don’t want to sleep with me again, is there something else I can do for you instead?”

“I’m not trying to avoid you. I’m just busy.”

“So the same deal works again?” Hux asked. He didn’t quite believe him but if he agreed to the deal, Hux wouldn’t worry about it. But he did need something to ask from him in return. Because Ren had already checked out everyone he suspected that wasn’t loyal to him, he really didn’t need his mind reading abilities again. But there were plenty of things he would like from Ren. 

“This should be simple enough. I just need you to transfer four people off the _Finalizer_. It won’t look good if the orders come from me, but if you do it, it shouldn’t raise suspicion. And who would question you?”

“That’s it?” Ren finally looked at him for the first time in days. “That’s… is it really worth your trouble?”

“I can’t imagine it’s that difficult for you to read someone’s mind,” he said. Given how often he seemed to read his mind, Hux was certain it was something he just did for fun. But figuring out how to work the First Order’s system to move personnel around… that might be difficult for him. “I think this will be far more challenging for you. Are the terms acceptable?”

“That’s fine.”

“I’ll have to report to the bridge shortly after we get back, so if you want, we can meet after?” He knew he’d probably have enough time before going to the bridge, but he wanted something more than a quick fuck. He wanted a chance to actually enjoy it.

“Fine,” Ren agreed. He definitely wasn’t in a talkative mood, which wasn’t unusual, but Hux thought that he might at least sound a little excited and not like Hux was asking for something terrible.

“Ren.” He wanted to ask him if he really wanted sex and remind him that they could work out a different deal, but at the same time, he shouldn’t have to tell him that. Ren was an adult, even if he never seemed to act like it. If he wanted something different, he could say so without him asking. 

He didn’t have a chance to think of anything else to say before the shuttle landed on board the _Finalizer_. Hux stepped over to him and put a hand on his arm and he almost leaned in to kiss him before he realized what he was doing. Even if they did start sleeping together, it wasn’t the type of relationship where they would exchange tender kisses whenever they parted. But as he headed down the ramp, he couldn’t help but think of what that might be like.

Although Hux had imagined himself in plenty of sexual situations with Ren, he’d never considered that he might feel anything for Ren. Even thinking about it, he knew it was ridiculous. The most they would have would be a relationship where he fucked Ren in order to get favors or maybe even get the man to behave himself. Under no circumstances would he develop feelings for Ren, and he didn’t think Ren was even capable of such a thing.

He pushed all thoughts of Ren out of his mind as he headed to the bridge, needing to focus on his job instead of Ren. No matter how hard he tried not to think about him, as the end of his shift grew near, he couldn’t help himself. He realized he hadn’t specified where to meet, so he sent him a quick message telling him to come to his quarters. By the end of his shift, there had been no response from Ren, but Ren had never been good at responding to messages, and when he left the bridge, he almost expected to find Ren waiting for him in his quarters.

When he walked inside and saw that he wasn’t there, he was actually disappointed. He checked his datapad and saw that Ren still hadn’t responded to his message and he considered telling him to not bother. But it wasn’t as if he had given him a specific time and he often stayed later than the official end of his shift. Ren probably hadn’t expected him to be back so soon.

As the minutes went on, Hux started to think that maybe Ren wouldn’t show up. He hadn’t seemed very enthusiastic about the idea in the shuttle, but Hux couldn’t believe he’d agree to it only to decide to he didn’t want to and not say a word. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that was exactly the sort of thing Ren would do.

Wanting to tell Ren exactly what he thought of his communication skills, he headed to Ren’s quarters. There was no use sending a message because Ren probably wouldn’t even read it. He jammed his finger on the button to request entry to his quarters, but there was no response. Wanting to see if Ren was just ignoring him, Hux put in his override code and walked in. 

He didn’t know what he expected, but seeing Ren sitting on the floor and muttering was definitely not it. Whatever he was doing, it was causing anything not secured to shake with the Force. And then he thought he heard him say the name “Rey.” Hux didn’t know if he could use his powers to talk to people across the galaxy, but he didn’t like the idea that he was talking to the Resistance. Especially since he had stood him up to do so.

“What are you doing?” Hux asked when the room stopped shaking with the Force. Ren was on his feet immediately and Hux found himself flying back into the wall behind him. He heard the air leave his lungs and for a few brief moments, he could only wheeze as he struggled to get the air back into his lungs. When he finally managed to breath again, Ren was at his side.

“Are you hurt?” he asked. At least he had the decency to act like he cared, but it was a stupid question and Hux was already angry with him.

“Of course I’m hurt! You threw me into a wall! Again!” He tried to take a deep breath but breathing was still painful and he had to make do with shallow breaths. “Who were you taking to?”

“I wasn’t talking to anyone,” Ren said. He grabbed his arm and pulled him up. Hux really would have liked to sit longer to recover, but he didn’t want Ren to know how badly he was hurting.

“Well, I walked in here and you were going on about something,” he said as he freed himself from Ren’s grasp. He stood against the wall so he’d be more stable on his feet. “What was that about?”

“Just a Force thing. You wouldn’t understand. What was I saying?”

“It was a Force thing. I didn’t understand.” He’d only picked up a few stray words and besides the name, most of it hadn’t been very clear, but if Ren didn’t want to share any details, then Hux could do the same. 

“Why are you here?”

“We’d planned on meeting,” he reminded him. He couldn’t believe Ren had forgotten. Then again, maybe he was just playing dumb and wanting to get out of their deal. “I know it probably wasn’t that important to you, but I thought you might have at least send a message or something if you had other things to do.”

It wasn’t how he’d planned on the conversation going, having planned on chewing Ren out for not showing up, but after getting thrown into the wall, he really just wanted to go back to his quarters and rest. But when he turned to leave, he found himself frozen in place.

“What are you doing Ren?” He struggled against his hold, but it was useless. He wouldn’t be able to leave until Ren let him, so he held still. Ren probably wouldn’t hold him there for long. If he couldn’t remember something only a few hours later, he probably didn’t have the concentration skills to render him immobile for too long.

“Don’t leave. I’m sorry. I got distracted.”

Ren walked over to him and took him by the wrist and gently pulled on him. He hadn’t realized he could move and easily fell towards Ren, although he managed to keep his balance and not stumble into Ren’s chest. Hux didn’t move when Ren’s hands moved to his belt and removed it. Only when he started to take off his uniform did Hux realize that Ren still planned on having sex with him and he quickly pushed his hands away.

He should tell Ren he missed his chance and walk away, especially since he’d attacked him. There was no good reason to stay, but he couldn’t bring himself to walk away. He wanted Ren, no matter how terrible of an idea it was. He’d likely only end up more injured than he already was, although perhaps that would be for the best. Maybe he would finally stop finding him attractive.

“I don’t need you destroying anything,” he said as he started to remove his clothing. Carefully. He didn’t think Ren would manage to be patient enough to actually let him slowly take his clothes off. He’d find himself frozen in place and his clothes torn off. But he started folding what he could, dragging it out to anger Ren. “What was so important that you forgot about our appointment?”

“Finding the Resistance.” Ren reached up to the collar of his own clothes and started to remove the fasteners, but Hux pulled his hands away.

“What did I say about destroying things? Were you successful?”

“Hux.” Ren was certainly getting impatient. It wouldn’t be long before he lost what little self-control he had.

“Be patient, Ren.” As if that could ever happen. “And you didn’t answer the question.”

“No. And I’d really rather not talk about that right now.”

Hux had removed his uniform and was left in his underclothes. He was surprised he got that far without Ren attacking him. He stepped over to him and started undoing the buttons on Ren’s clothes. As soon as he was near enough, Ren reached out to him and Hux imagined that Ren was going to throw him down and fuck him, but instead, he gently rested his hands on his hips. As Hux was removing Ren’s top, he ran his hands under Hux’s shirt and Hux was surprised by how non-violent he was. Then he ruined it all by grabbing his shirt and ripping it off of him.

“Ren!” Hux shouted. “I told you not to destroy anything!”

“Sorry. Couldn’t help it.” Ren grinned as he grabbed what was left of the shirt and threw it to the floor.

Hux waited for a moment, thinking Ren had finally ran out of patience and was going to start throwing him around, but he just stood there, watching him. Hux continued to slowly remove Ren’s clothes, waiting for him to attack. When Ren reached up and touched his neck, he froze, thinking Ren was about to choke him, but instead, he only gently brushed his skin and then dropped his hand away.

Once he had Ren’s shirt off, he started to fold it. When it went flying out of his hands and across the room, he was only surprised that he wasn’t following. Instead of being tossed about the room, Ren had his arms around him and he kissed him.

“Kylo,” he said as Ren kissed him. For a moment, he could almost believe that Ren actually liked him and that they had a loving relationship, but Ren squeezed him and he couldn’t help but whimper as Ren aggravated his injuries from earlier. Surprisingly, Ren loosened his arms and pulled away so he could look at him.

“Hux? Did I hurt you?”

He wanted to tell him that of course he did and that it was a stupid question. But he was also very surprised at Ren’s gentle side. And he didn’t want to ruin the mood. It couldn’t last, of course, but Hux wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible.

“It’s fine,” he said.

“I don’t want to make it worse. Where are you hurt?”

“Everywhere,” he said, deciding to be honest with him. Ren actually seemed concerned. “But as long as you don’t throw me around again, I’ll be fine.”

“Hux.” Ren took his hand and Hux immediately pulled Ren’s hand up and put it on his chest. He didn’t want to talk about it - he just wanted Ren to fuck him.

“I said it’s fine.” He knew it would hurt, but that’s what he was counting on. He just hoped it would be enough for him to get over him.

“Armitage.”

Hux immediately dropped Ren’s hand and it fell away from his chest. He hadn’t expected Ren to use his first name. He never had before and it sounded strange coming from him. But some part of Hx liked it. And he couldn’t help but recall that he’d said “Kylo” earlier too. 

“We can do this another time,” Ren said.

“Why wait?” Hux slid his hand down the front of Ren’s pants and smiled as he felt him in his hand. “I’m here and most of my clothes are off already. And you certainly feel ready.”

Ren seemed to be hesitating and Hux wondered if he would always be so reluctant to have sex. Not that it would be his problem. He’d hopefully get rid of all desire for Ren very soon. Once Ren had a chance to think about it, he took of his pants and pulled Hux close to him, softly kissing his lips.

As nice as Ren was being - and Hux wished he’d seen this gentle Ren more often - that wasn’t what he was there for and he bit Ren’s lip. That wasn’t enough to get Ren to act normal, but Hux knew it couldn’t take much. He grabbed a hold of Ren’s hips, gripping them until they would surely bruise, and then started pushing Ren to the bed, discarding their remaining clothing as they went. Instead of taking control and throwing him to the bed, Ren instead let himself be pushed down and he pulled Hux with him.

Ren’s hand cupped his ass and then slid between his cheeks, poking gently at his hole. He pushed away from Hux with a pleading look in his eyes. Hux nodded, realizing that Ren was asking permission. He thought Ren would try to shove his finger inside of him, but he only teased him gently before moving his hand. He could feel Ren doing something behind him, but he couldn’t see. When Ren’s finger poked at his ass again, he realized that Ren had slicked his finger up before trying to get inside. It was more thoughtful than Hux expected.

Ren stretched him open slowly and Hux almost forgot that he didn’t actually want to enjoy sex with Ren. It would have been easy to just let him do whatever he wanted, to let it feel good but he needed it to hurt so much he’d never want to fuck Ren again. Clearly, he’d need to push Ren into doing that, so as he started to push a second finger in, Hux bit him on the neck. He felt his body flinch under him, but he didn’t retaliate. Instead, he kissed the top of his head and continued to slowly work him open.

Wanting to get him out of whatever strange mood he was in that caused him to be gentle, Hux pushed himself down on Ren’s fingers when he started to add a third. Ren immediately pulled his fingers out and wrapped his arm firmly around his waist before starting to put them back in and Hux had no choice but to let Ren do things at his own pace. If Hux was honest with himself, he loved how much time he was taking, but he hated the man doing it, and he tried to focus on that.

Long after he felt perfectly well stretched, Ren picked him up and laid him down on the bed. As soon as Ren let go of him, Hux got up and moved to his hands and knees. He turned his head to look at Ren and saw that he looked confused. “Fuck me from behind,” Hux instructed.

Ren still looked lost, but he nodded. Somehow, despite how impatient he was to get their clothes off, he was still taking his time. He pushed a single finger inside him, and Hux was the one who couldn’t hold back anymore.

“You don’t need to start over,” he snapped. “Just hurry up.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s a little late for that.”

“Hux, I…”

“Just shut up and fuck me already.”

Surprisingly, Ren actually fell silent and it didn’t take long before Hux could feel him pressed up against him. He pushed his ass back towards him, trying to urge him on. When he felt Ren pushing inside him, he couldn’t help but let out a moan. Ren had made him wait far too long. And he was still taking things too slow as he inched his way inside.

“Ren. Please.” He hated how whiny his voice sounded, but he needed him to get on with it. Ren didn’t move any faster, but he did at stroke his side, causing a shudder to run through Hux. He wasn’t sure if it was because he liked it or because he was scared of the tender touch.

When Ren finally bottomed out and and his hips against Hux’s ass, he leaned forward and started kissing his neck, giving him a gentle nibble every now and then. He pulled his hips back slightly before pressing back in, never moving very far, but it was driving Hux crazy. He’d expected and wanted a rough fuck, but this slow and gentle sex was something he never realized he wanted. And he couldn’t stand that he was getting it from Ren. He reached behind him and grabbed Ren’s hip, digging his fingernails into him. 

No matter what Hux did, Ren maintained his slow pace and eventually, the only thing he could do was let himself enjoy it. When Ren wrapped one arm under his chest, Hux let himself melt and Kylo kept him upright. And then Ren reached down with his other hand to touch his cock and an obscene moan escaped from Hux. With Ren’s hand stroking him, it wasn’t long before he was coming. Just as he finished, Ren pushed himself all the way in and Hux felt him come inside him.

He was still shaking when Ren pulled out. Remembering how he had held him after their first time, Hux expected Ren to do the same and he knew that he was going to let him do whatever he wanted. But instead of laying down next to him and pulling him against that broad chest, Ren got up, leaving him alone on the bed with come leaking out of his ass.

Hux looked up at Ren, wondering what he was up to, but before he could say anything, Ren put a hand on his arm then leaned down to kiss his cheek, but he didn’t get back in bed.

“Let me know who you want me to get rid of.”

With that, Ren went into the refresher and shut the door. Hux waited a few moments, hoping Ren might return soon, but he didn’t. Feeling like Ren probably didn’t want him there, Hux eventually got up and started dressing, completely baffled by Ren’s behavior. How could he fuck him so softly and then act like he didn’t even care? And Hux wasn’t even sure why he cared. He was only doing it to get favors from Ren.

Or at least that’s what he wanted to keep telling himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Hux hadn’t known what to expect after sleeping with Ren the second time. He knew he’d hurt his feelings the first time around and wasn’t surprised that Ren had started avoiding him. But it had been Ren who left immediately and although Hux wasn’t hurt by that, he didn’t know what that meant for Ren’s behavior. When Ren seemed to avoid him again, Hux was a little surprised, but perhaps that was just how Ren was.

He knew he shouldn’t even be thinking about why Ren was so avoidant after sex or wondering if that would change after a few more times. Mostly because there wouldn’t be a next time. Hux had hoped Ren would injure him enough that he’d hate the idea of being with him. Instead, he’d done the exact opposite and Hux found that he wanted more of that.

Nothing good could come of their arrangement, and Hux knew he should end it. He told himself the next time he saw him, he’d do so and planned out exactly what he would say in his head. But when he walked onto the bridge and saw him standing there, looking very imposing, his carefully planned speech was lost. Looking at him while seemingly in perfect command made Hux want him even more. It took him a moment to realize that something was wrong with that picture.

He glanced around the bridge quickly and then walked towards Ren. “Supreme Leader,” he said, taking one last look around in case he had missed something. “Has something happened to Captain Peavey?”

“He annoyed me.”

“And?” That didn’t tell Hux anything, but then he thought about what Ren did with things and people he didn’t like. “Please tell me you didn’t kill him.”

“No. I didn’t even hurt him.”

“Well, that a shame.” Hux liked Peavey as much as the old captain liked him. It would have served him right if Ren had tossed him about. Perhaps that was reserved only for him. “So where is he?”

“I dismissed him.”

“I see.” Hux wondered just how long Ren had been in charge on the bridge. If there had been some kind of crisis, he surely would have been notified, so it couldn’t have been long. Still, Ren in command was a recipe for disaster. “I’m here now if you’d like to leave.”

“I’ll stay for a while. If I’m going to spend more time on the bridge, it might be best for me to observe how you do things.”

Hux wasn’t sure it he understood Ren correctly. He hoped he hadn’t. The last thing he needed was to have him spending more time on the bridge and he couldn’t imagine why he’d want to. He’d never shown any interest in actually commanding the ship and Hux didn’t like the fact that he seemed to be changing that attitude. Although he had wished for a responsible co-commander in the past, now that Ren was Supreme Leader, he really just wanted him out of his way.

“I suppose you can do whatever you want,” Hux said. As much as he didn’t want him there, he couldn’t do anything about it. He’d just have to hope that Ren would soon grow bored. “I don’t suppose you’ve made an end of shift report.”

“Nothing happened.”

“Yes, but we usually want that documented in some way.” Of course Ren knew nothing about standard procedures on the ship. There had never been reason for him to know. There still wasn’t, as far as Hux was concerned. He briefly toyed with the idea of making Ren fill out the report, but decided against it. He didn’t need him throwing a tantrum because he couldn’t figure out what he was doing.

“Fortunately, almost anyone can do it,” Hux said, turning to a nearby officer. “Major, I need you to do the end of shift report. If you have any questions, you can ask the Supreme Leader.”

“Yes, sir,” the major said, glancing towards Ren before putting his head down, presumably to fill out the report. It wasn’t much longer before Hux received the notification about the report being filed, and soon after, the bridge began to fill with the crew for the next shift. One by one, they relieved those on duty and took over.

The shift was proceeding normally, with the only unusual thing being Ren’s presence. Hux kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn’t causing any trouble, but every time he looked over, he seemed to have a glazed look in his eyes, likely bored out of his mind. Hux went about his business, hoping Ren wouldn’t be there much longer. Not only did he not like him there, but he could tell he rest of the crew was uneasy with him around. 

It was when he was in the middle of a conversation that Hux realized what Ren’s game was. It felt like something touched him on his back. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought someone had run their hand down his back, but he knew no one would do that. Except Ren, but he was on the other side of the bridge. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t responsible. He didn’t react at all, knowing that would only make things worse if Ren knew how much it bothered him.

Ren continued to touch him and Hux managed to ignore him until it felt like he’d been smacked in the ass and he couldn’t help but flinch at that. He glanced over at Ren and saw him smiling, but tried to return to his conversation. After getting his attention, Ren became relentless and was touching him everywhere. He wasn’t hurting him, but the last thing he needed was Ren playing with him when he needed to work.

“Supreme Leader,” he said after dismissing the other officer. “May I have a word with you in private?”

“Certainly.” Ren looked pleased with himself and Hux would have liked nothing more than to strangle him right there on the bridge in front of everyone. Only the knowledge that he couldn’t kill Ren so easily saved him, at least until they made it to the privacy of a conference room.

“What do you think you’re doing, Ren? You can’t -”

Hux didn’t have a chance to finish because Ren grabbed him by the upper arms and pulled him into a kiss. For a brief moment, Hux let him kiss him but then he remembered Ren’s inappropriate behavior on the bridge. He shoved him away and scowled when he noticed that Ren was smiling.

“If you feel the need to mess with me in private, that’s fine,” Hux said. He’d rather have Ren simply leave him alone, but now that Ren was his superior, he didn’t have much of a choice. “But can you please refrain from doing so while I’m working? Is that why you were on the bridge? I should have known you had no interest in actually making yourself useful!”

“I learned quite a bit, actually. This was more of an impulse thing. I was bored. You looked bored. And look. Now we’re alone.”

“And I’m still on duty.” He knew exactly what Ren was suggesting and had he not been determined to break things off with him, he might have been tempted. Nothing good could come of their sexual relationship and Hux knew he had to end it. But he couldn’t manage to tell him that.

“I’ll make it quick. You could use some stress relief.” Ren grabbed Hux’s hips and pulled him close. Hux tried to push him away, but he was much stronger than he was. 

“I don’t have time.”

“Supreme Leader’s orders.” As he spoke, Kylo knelt down in front of him and even through his pants, he could feel Kylo’s breath on him. Perhaps breaking up with him could wait just a bit longer.

“Fine. Guess I don’t have a choice, then.” He expected Ren to continue and he was rather excited about it - he’d thought about all kinds of uses for Ren’s mouth and he was already hard in his pants just thinking about it. But Ren stopped with his hand on the front of his pants.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“What happened to orders?” He had no idea why Ren was asking such a thing. He could take whatever he wanted and they both knew it. He shouldn’t care to ask Hux’s opinion on things. He never had before.

“I’m not…” Ren seemed confused for a moment and shook his head. “Just tell me what you want, Hux. Please.”

He couldn’t believe what Ren was saying. Asking him what he wanted. And saying please. It was almost like he cared. Hux had no idea what to think of that. When Ren started to stand, he realized he hadn’t said a word in response and he was quick to reach out and push him back to his knees. He liked having Ren kneel before him.

“Is this what you want?” Ren asked softly. He pulled his pants down just enough that his cock was free but he didn’t touch him. He only looked up at him, waiting.

“Yes,” Hux finally said.

As soon as he said that, Ren had his mouth on him. Without thinking, Hux reached down and grabbed the back of Ren’s head and pulled him forward. It was nearly exactly how he’d fantasized about it - Ren on his knees and gagging on his cock. The only thing wrong was the fact that Ren was fully clothed, but Hux could accept that. Next time, maybe he’d make sure Ren was completely naked first. 

He shouldn’t even be thinking of next time, because he’d fully intended on breaking things off with him. But it just might be worth it if he could get Ren on his knees a little more often. That wasn’t the only thing that would have to change, however.

“If we’re going to continue this - whatever this is - we’re going to have to lay down some rules.”

Ren put his hands on his hips and pushed himself away. Hux would have preferred to keep him where he was, but he didn’t try too hard to hold his head in place.

“You can’t seriously want to talk about that now,” he said with a frown. But as soon as his mouth wasn’t busy speaking, he took Hux’s cock back in his mouth.

“I seem to have your full attention at the moment.”

He let Ren bob his head up and down a few times before he started in on some of the rules he wanted Ren to follow, but before he managed to get a single word out, he felt pressure on his prostate. He couldn’t help but let out a gasp as he felt something pushing inside him. He’d never thought of Ren using his powers in such a way, but he couldn’t think too much about it. He was far too busy making sure he wasn’t being too loud as Ren touched every sensitive place on his body at once.

It took next to no time at all for Hux to come and he didn’t realize until too late that his cock was still in Ren’s mouth. Ren didn’t seem to mind and he watched as Ren swallowed everything. He knew that having one blowjob from Ren would never be enough. Even if continuing their relationship was a bad idea, Hux knew he’d never be able to resist.

Ren stood with a grin on his face. When he reached out, Hux didn’t even push him away, which he quickly regretted since he ruffled his hair and messed it up.

“I hate you,” Hux said as he reached up to try to fix his hair. Without saying another word, Ren turned and left. 

Hux stayed behind and fixed his hair and uniform so no one would be able to tell that anything had happened. After he looked presentable again, he waited a few more minutes to give himself plenty of time to calm down. Once he felt settled, he headed back to the bridge to see that Ren had returned to the bridge as well and was currently arguing with Admiral Hass. Or at least, that’s what Hux assumed because shortly after he arrived, Ren cut the transmission. 

He was about to step forward when he noticed Ren staring at one of the officers - he didn’t know what she did, but he didn’t want Ren killing anyone. He saw them speaking, although Hux was too far away to hear their words and then Ren walked away, and the lieutenant returned to her station. 

“Some admiral wanted to speak to you,” Ren said as he walked over. “I took care of it. But I’m sure he’ll be angry when he does manage to contact you.”

“What did you do?” Hux imagined the worst. What he’d overheard hadn’t sounded bad, but Ren would have had plenty of time to insult the admiral.

“Nothing. I want you to promote that comm officer.” Ren pointed back at the lieutenant he had spoken too. 

“Can I ask why you think she deserves a promotion?” He was at least glad that he had no immediate plans to kill her, but he still didn’t feel like he should promote her simply because Ren wanted to.

“Mostly it’s just to spite the admiral. He was threatening to demote her.”

“I shouldn’t have asked.” He should have expected an answer like that from Ren. It really wasn’t the worst reason, and it likely wouldn’t make a huge difference if he let Ren have his way about it. “I’ll look into it. If she’s eligible for a promotion, I’ll make sure it goes through. Did Admiral Hass happen to say what he wanted?”

“I took care of it.”

“That doesn’t mean much. Although I suppose I shouldn’t care if you’ve angered him. I’ve always suspected he hated me.”

“Do you want me to find out?”

“It depends on what it would cost me.”

Instead of answering, Hux suddenly had an image of Ren tied up and blindfolded on a bed and Hux riding him. He could feel his cheeks turning warm, both from embarrassment and anger. He knew exactly where that thought had come from - he’d imagined that scenario several times before. And of course Ren had taken that from his mind and showed it back to him. 

“We really need to discuss those rules,” he muttered. He may not be able to stop Ren from reading his mind, but he could hopefully get him to stop showing him such things. “The last thing I need is for you to be flooding my brain with such images while I’m working.”

“That came from you originally,” Ren said with a smug smile. “Something you flooded my brain with.”

“I know that!” Hux wasn’t about to get into the fact that Ren didn’t need to be invading his mind constantly. Not on the bridge. “Can we discuss this later? I have real work to deal with.”

“Nothing’s happening. But fine. We can go back to doing nothing if it makes you feel better.”

“We?” Hux shook his head, not liking what Kylo implied. “I think you’ve been on the bridge long enough, Supreme Leader. I’m sure you have other duties to attend to.”

Hux thought that he might argue with him or even refuse to leave. And it wasn’t as if he could make him leave if he decided he was going to stay. He didn’t know if he could manage an entire shift with Ren looming behind him, touching him and bothering him.

“I suppose I do,” Ren said after a while. Hux walked away from him, relieved that he would be able to finish his shift in peace. Of course it didn’t last long. “Armitage!”

Hux turned around and saw that Ren shouting his name had drawn the attention of a good portion of the crew as well. At least most of them had the sense to return their attention to their stations quickly, but Hux knew they were listening.

“I’ll meet you in your quarters after your shift.”

“Yes, Supreme Leader.” He quickly turned towards the nearest console and pretended to be interested in the readings so no one could see that he was blushing. He kept looking at it until he was certain that Ren had left. Only then did he turn around. Instead of going focusing on anything on the bridge, he took out his datapad and started working on a list of rules. After all, Ren had been right about one thing - there really wasn’t anything happening on the bridge.

When his shift was over, he returned to his quarters. He’d finished making the rules for Ren and he planned on going over it one last time before asking Ren to come over. But when he opened the door, he found that Ren was already there, laying on his couch. He frowned and went to his desk, ignoring Ren. He could see that Ren was watching him, but he ignored them as he read over his rules on the datapad, just as he had planned.

Once he was satisfied with his list, he opened a drawer on his desk and poured himself a glass of brandy before walking over to where Ren was just staring at him. He held the datapad out towards him. “These are the rules I’d like for you to follow.”

Instead of reaching out and taking the datapad like a normal person, Ren simply pulled it towards him with his powers. Hux wasn’t sure if he was trying to show off or if he really was that lazy. Either way, he was not at all impressed.

“Of course, it’s only fair for you to give me rules as well. Is there anything you’d like to add?” He dreaded what sorts of things Ren’s deranged mind might add to the list, but he knew that eventually, Ren would decide things were unfair if he didn’t have a chance to make his own rules.

“What?” Ren asked. He stared blankly at him for a few moments and Hux thought he was going to have to repeat himself, but then he spoke again. “Oh. Um. No. There isn’t.”

That was a bit of a surprise but Hux wasn’t about to complain. He gave Ren what he thought would be plenty of time to read the list and he finished his glass of brandy. He returned to his desk to pour himself a second glass when he decided that Ren should have finished reading. “Are those acceptable?”

“Are you even going to offer me a drink?”

Wanting to actually have the conversation Ren was there to have, Hux simply got a second glass and poured a drink for Ren. He put it down on the table in front of the couch with a little more force than he intended, but fortunately, nothing splashed out. Ren only looked at the drink then turned his attention back to the datapad.

“Well?” Hux asked after waiting another few moments for Ren to say or even do anything. He’d just been lying on his couch the entire time, not even moving an arm or a leg.

“Can you just read it to me?” As Ren asked, the datapad started floating back towards him, and he took it, not wanting Ren to grow bored and simply drop it. 

“You are the most useless, pathetic excuse for a man I have ever met.” He hated to give in to Ren’s laziness but he wanted to get the discussion over with, so he took the datapad and quickly read off the list. “You are not to interact inappropriately with me while I’m on shift, schedule any sexual encounters at least thirty hours in advance, ensure that the nature of our relationship is not known to anyone else, do not destroy any of my personal things, and return my greatcoat at your earliest convenience.”

“I don’t even see why this is necessary,” Kylo complained.

“Because you don’t understand the concept of boundaries.” 

“Well, I guess I can try not to bother you when you’re working. But you have to admit, that was fun.”

“There’s more important things than fun. What about the other rules?”

“What other rules?”

Hux couldn’t help but groan. Of course Ren had only heard a single thing on the list. “I’m going to add “listening when we’re having a discussion” to the list.”

“Sorry, Hux. I’m just a little distracted.” He reached his hand out and before Hux could ask what he was doing, the datapad flew into his hand. Hux didn’t complain because he at least seemed to be reading what was on the screen.

“Your coat? That had to be a rule?” Ren asked after a while.

“Well, you still have it and I want it back.”

“It’s a good blanket. But fine, you can have it back.” Ren fell silent again and Hux was starting to think he was going to have to go through the rules one by one with him. Before he could ask if he read the entire list or not, Ren held up a hand. “And I can try with the others. No promises.”

“Ren, this isn’t going to work if you can’t agree to be a decent human being for once in your life.”

“Why didn’t you put anything about me choking you in those rules? I thought you’d want to put that one in.”

That caught Hux off guard. He never thought Ren would suggest adding any additional rules for himself. Although he really wasn’t suggesting it. “I wanted to make it simple for you to follow,” Hux answered. “Seeing as how you have terrible self-control most of the time, I thought asking you to refrain from attacking me was too much. You wouldn’t be able to do it.”

He didn’t tell Ren that if he made it a rule, he’d have to end their relationship when he eventually broke it. And that wasn’t what he wanted. Even if Ren was a terrible person, he still wanted to have sex with him. Hux poured himself another drink and gulped it down. Not wanting to think about the bad decisions he was making with Ren, he reached for the bottle again, but it slid away from him.

“What are you doing?” he asked, looking over at Ren. Because it had to have been his fault.

“You’re drinking more than usual,” Ren said, finally sitting up. “Is there something you want to talk about?”

“With you? I wasn’t aware we were doing anything besides fucking.” He knew Ren couldn’t argue with that, but he couldn’t help but wonder why he had suggested it. Why did Ren even care what he was doing?

Ren stood up and walked over to him. He put his glass down in front of him and Hux realized Ren hadn’t drank any of it. Before he could ask why he’d insisted on getting a drink, Ren reached out for the front of his uniform, but Hux pushed him awat.

“Not right now,” he said. He reached for the drink in front of him, but Ren was faster and pulled it out of his reach.

“Take it off.” Hux considered ignoring him and simply walking away but he knew that Ren would make him comply if that’s what he really wanted. He grabbed the drink from Ren and downed it quickly before starting to undo his uniform. “The undershirt too.”

He didn’t know what Ren had in mind but he didn’t imagine it was going to be anything pleasant. After all, he was still quite bruised from the last time Ren had thrown him around and it was too much to hope for that Ren might be gentle with him. He felt himself tense as he walked behind him, expecting the worse.

“Hux,” Kylo said, speaking softly. He walked around to his front without ever touching him. “I keep hurting you. Why do you put up with me?”

“I don’t have much of a choice, Supreme Leader.” Hux couldn’t believe he was asking that question. If it wasn’t for his powers, Hux would have pushed Ren off the throne already. But he had no way of getting him out of the way. At least not yet.

“No,” Ren said, shaking his head. “I mean, the sex thing. Why do you let me touch you?”

“Why do you care?” Not wanting to be so exposed any longer, he put his undershirt back on.

“You said you wanted me to be a decent human being. Tell me.”

“Because you’ll do me favors in return. It’s not the worst price to pay.” That was at least partially true. Being able to get things from the Supreme Leader certainly was useful, but Hux knew even without that, he’d still want him. But he really wasn’t in the mood at the moment. “If it’s all right with you, however, I’d like to heal a little before we have sex again.”

“Of course,” Ren agreed. That wasn’t what Hux expected. He thought he’d be mad and at least demand to know how long he’d have to wait. “You know it doesn’t always have to be sex. We could do other things together.”

“Right. Because Kylo Ren is going to accept a little bit of cuddling in place of sex.” He knew exactly how that would end. Even if things started out non-sexual, Ren would eventually be unable to hold himself back and would be angry if Hux told him no. Better to just avoid the situation in the first place. “Just give me some time. Please.”

“Let me know when you’re ready,” Ren mumbled without looking at him. He stood there for a few moments before quickly walking out the door. 

Hux hadn’t expected Ren to take that so calmly and to leave without an argument. And with how Ren seemed almost embarrassed about something as he left, things finally clicked for Hux. Ren actually did want something more than just sex. He remembered he had tried to hold him after their first time. Maybe Ren would do what he wanted if he let him cuddle. As much as Hux tried to tell himself that was a ridiculous idea, he couldn’t help but think he wouldn’t be at all opposed to it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added "unsafe sex" and "dubious consent" tags for this chapter. More details in the end notes.

The longer Ren went without some kind of breakdown, the worse it would be when it eventually happened. Hux knew this and after days of him acting like a rational adult, he knew that he must be on the verge of a tantrum. When he arrived at his quarters for a meeting, Hux fully expected him to finally lose control. He’d seen him barely hold back earlier in the day when High Command had questioned his orders to have the _Supremacy_ scrapped. 

But if Ren went on a rampage in his quarters, he’d be breaking one of the rules, and so far, he had been doing an excellent job of following them. It wouldn’t last, of course, but it was nice to know that Ren was making an effort. And if Ren was willing to follow rules in order to get sex, Hux wondered just what else Ren might do. But it wasn’t the time to worry about that.

Hux had asked Ren to come to his quarters because he’d made High Command believe they were working on a solution to the problems that would come from scrapping the _Supremacy_. And they needed to have something to present to them soon. Because Hux had decided he was going to stick up for the Supreme Leader instead of letting the others see just how incompetent he really was.

He watched from the corner of his eye as Ren pulled out his lightsaber and for a moment, Hux thought he was about to run it through something, but he didn’t turn it on, only started tapping it on the table. He turned and looked at Ren and saw that he didn’t look angry. More bored than anything. But Ren had arrived early and there were reports Hux needed to go over before he could focus on Ren.

“I thought I asked you not to destroy anything.” Hux looked back at his datapad, wanting to get through the report quickly. A bored Ren was not what he needed.

“I’m not destroying anything.”

“Anytime that stupid lightsaber comes out, you destroy something. Don’t you have something of your own you can tear apart?”

“Maybe you just don’t spend enough time around me and my stupid lightsaber,” Ren muttered.

“Trust me, that’s the last thing I need more of.” He’d finished reading the report and although he needed to send out a few messages, he decided that could wait until Ren was dealt wit. “So, did you actually think things through when you ordered the _Supremacy_ scrapped? If you have a plan, I’d love to hear it.”

“You already know the answer,” he mumbled.

“Given how important that ship was, do you really think it’s wise to continue this course? I’ve seen the repair estimates and -”

“We’re not repairing it. What other ideas do you have?”

Of course he expected him to come up with all the ideas. And Hux really couldn’t think of a better alternative to repairing the ship. Everything was on board that ship and they needed it’s facilities. He’d have to find a way to convince Ren of that. “Is there a reason you refuse to change your mind or are you just being stubborn? It might be wise to rethink -”

“No!” Ren shouted as he got to his feet and Hux thought that he’d finally pushed Ren to his breaking point. But his lightsaber remained on the table in front of him and Hux didn’t go flying across the room. Ren calmed quickly and sat back down. “I just don’t want it fixed. Do I really need to tell you why?”

“I am curious why you’re so set on this. But of course, if you don’t want to share, that’s your business.” If he knew why Ren was so insistent that they scrap the ship, then Hux might have been able to find a way to convince him to rethink that plan. But if he didn’t want to tell him, the only thing Hux could think of that might make him reconsider was sex. Perhaps a blowjob would be enough for Ren to listen to reason. 

Before he could think of the best way to make such an offer without offending Ren and sending him on a rampage, he noticed Ren was tapping his lightsaber on the table again. He shifted a little on the couch before finally speaking. “I spent a lot of time on that ship,” he said softly. “Most of it was extremely unpleasant. Training under Snoke. The only moments of peace I had were when I was recovering from the injuries he inflicted. And even then. It was terrible, Hux. Being on that ship is a constant reminder of what I went through.”

He could hear Ren starting to choke up. That was not at all the answer - or the emotion - that Hux had expected from Ren. But he’d heard enough to know that Ren was right - they couldn’t repair the ship. Hux knew that he never would have allowed any of the worst places from his childhood survive if he had that option. Ren did have that option and Hux wasn’t about to stand in his way. But they’d need to come up with an alternative plan. 

Pulling up the data on the _Supremacy_ , Hux started to come up with a plan. “We can put training grounds and research labs on any ship,” he said. He knew they’d need to split things up more, but they could make it work. “That would be easy enough, even if it would make things a bit cramped. But the shipyards? We need something the size of the _Supremacy_ for that.”

“What?”

“Obviously, repairing it is out of the question. So we’ll have to come up with something else. Some of the labs, factories and shipyards. That’s going to be the difficult part. We can’t just put those on any ship. There’s just no space.”

They fell back into silence for a while as Hux tried to think of something that would work, because now that he knew just why Ren was so determined to have the ship scrapped, he was going to do everything he could to make that happen. He never expected to care much about how Ren felt, but it couldn’t be helped. He just hoped Ren never found out.

Ren started talking, coming up with his own ideas, going on about building proper shipyards and planet-based facilities. It was hard for Hux to concentrate on anything he said, however, because Ren had started to slide a glass between his hand and lightsaber. It might not have been so bad, but there was still whiskey in the glass and every time Ren pushed it, it seemed to get closer to spilling out. Finally, Hux couldn’t take it anymore and stood up and took the glass from him. Not wanting him to continue to play with the lightsaber, he took that from him as well.

“You’re such a child,” he grumbled as he returned to his desk.

“If you wanted the saber so much, you know you could have asked at any time.”

Hux felt his cheeks grow warm and looked down at his datapad so Ren didn’t see exactly where his mind went with that comment. “I’ll keep that in mind next time you throw a tantrum,” Hux said, deciding to take Ren literally, although he was fairly certain that’s not how he meant it.

“Anyway,” Hux said, wanting to get back on topic, “your idea might have some merit. We’ll have to estimate how much the cost will be, because it’s going to be hard to convince the others it’s a good idea if it’s going to cost more than the repairs. And of course, deciding just where we’re going to be building all this.”

“Doesn’t matter if the others like the idea. What are they going to do?”

“Create unrest, at the least. At worst, you’d be looking at a coup. And in that case, the entire Order might fall apart and the entire galaxy will descend into chaos. All because you wanted to do whatever you wanted.” It was one of Hux’s greatest fears with Ren as Supreme Leader - he could so easily destroy everything he’d worked for just because he didn’t stop to think things through.

“Snoke never listened to anyone else. Why should I have to?”

“Because,” Hux said with a sigh, “Snoke earned everyone’s trust, Ren. You, on the other hand, are seen throughout the fleet as an uncontrollable child, who we all tolerated because Snoke told us you were invaluable. And while many of us doubted that statement, we trusted Snoke. And now that child has demanded control of the entire First Order and you think everyone is just going to accept that?”

“You have.”

Hux really didn’t want to be having that conversation with him, knowing it would only lead to Ren getting upset. But he at least didn’t have his lightsaber and so far, he seemed calm. “It’s for the best that the transition of power is smooth. You are the last person I would have wanted to replace Snoke, but you left me very little choice. I’ve accepted that you are the Supreme Leader, but I don’t like it.”

He almost expected Ren to grow angry and attack him, but he only looked sad. Maybe he’d hurt his feelings enough that he was just going to start crying. It was no wonder the man had to wear a mask for most of his time in the First Order. No one would have taken him seriously with such emotion on his face.

“You’re not going to cry, are you?” He really didn’t want to deal with a full blown stream of tears from him. It happened from time to time but Hux hated dealing with it. The only way he wanted to see Ren cry was from being roughly fucked.

Hux surprised himself with that thought and he tried to push it aside, but all he could think about was Ren on his knees, tears streaming down his face as Hux fucked his throat. It wasn’t an unusual fantasy for him, but he didn’t need to be thinking about that when he was supposed to be discussing business with Ren.

“Here.” Hux picked up the glass he’d taken from him and gave it back to him. “That’ll make you feel better. But you actually have to drink it.”

Ren took the glass and took a sip. Hux thought he was about to spit it out and from the look on his face, it was clear he didn’t enjoy it. As Hux thought about it, he realized that was the first time he’d ever seen Ren drink alcohol. Not that he’d spent much time around him in the past, but Hux wouldn’t have been surprised if it was one of his first experiences with alcohol.

“You don’t drink much, do you?”

“Not really.”

“Well, then that might make you feel worse.” Not wanting the whiskey to go to waste, Hux took the glass from him and finished it off. “I suppose destroying my ship is the only thing that makes you feel better.”

“She’s my ship now. And it’s not the only thing.”

It was clear what he meant by that and although it was tempting, Hux wasn’t sure he wanted to have sex at the moment. Especially not with Ren clearly so emotional already. He imagined his self-control would be even worse than usual. “I thought we agreed to wait for a while on that. I’m not quite ready for you to throw me around quite yet.”

“I’ve been nothing but gentle with you in bed,” he argued. “But you already thought of a way we can have sex without me hurting you. You were just thinking about it.”

Hux felt his face heating up as he realized that Ren had read his mind again. And of course, he’d seen those same obscene thoughts that had gotten him involved with Ren in the first place.

“How much of that did you see?”

“Enough.”

Hux wasn’t sure what to say to that. If Ren had seen what he was thinking about, was that what he was offering to do? He couldn’t imagine Ren ever letting him do such a thing to him. But it wasn’t as if he really knew Ren at all. Maybe it was exactly what he wanted.

“I’m just saying it’s an option,” Ren said. “If that’s what you want to do. I’ll do it.”

“Ren, I’m not entirely sure that’s a good idea,” he said, wanting to convince himself of that as well. Because that was exactly what he wanted, but he couldn’t actually do that, could he? “You’re too unpredictable and far too emotional. I can’t take the risk that I do something to you and you react with the Force. Not to mention that you are the Supreme Leader and -”

“You hate the fact that I’m Supreme Leader.” Ren stood up and walked towards him. Hux wanted to back away, but he was also very excited about where things might go, even if it would be dangerous. “You hate almost everything about me,” Ren continued when he was right in front of him. “I know you’ve wanted to do this. Finally take all your anger out on me. Throw me around. Have me crying at your feet.”

Hux could feel himself starting to get hard at Ren’s words. He didn’t doubt that Ren was serious and he wanted it as well, but Hux still couldn’t bring himself to move. Before he could think of any argument, Ren grabbed his hand and put it around his neck, inviting him to choke him. Hux didn’t, but he left his hand right where Ren put it.

“You can do whatever you want to me. Try not to break any bones, but if it can’t be helped…” Ren shrugged. Hux couldn’t believe what Ren was offering. He wanted to take him up on that, do everything he’d ever imagined, but he couldn’t help but think that Ren would end up lashing out with the Force, and he’d just recovered from the last time. He’d hate to ruin that so quickly.

“I should have expected this of you,” Ren said. “I offer you what you’ve fantasized about for years and you won’t take it. You’re pathetic, General. How many cocks did you have to suck to get that rank? I should -”

Wanting to silence him, Hux squeezed the hand on his neck and Ren fell silent. Hux kept his grip on him while he fully processed what was happening. He’d attacked the Supreme Leader. He had given him permission to do so, but it still felt like he shouldn’t be doing it. But Ren hadn’t retaliated. He just stood there, struggling to breath. Hux realized he needed to either let him go or keep going.

Deciding he might as well continue and see just how far Ren really would let him go, Hux shoved him back against a wall and released him from his grip. “Strip.”

He expected that Ren would laugh but instead, he took in a few breaths of air before he set to quickly removing his clothing and dropping it on the floor. Hux was tempted to order him to pick up his mess, but it would be a shame to waste his compliance on something so trivial. Not when there were more interesting things Hux could have him do.

“On your knees.” When Ren dropped down in front of him, Hux thought that all the blood in his body went right to his cock. He liked Ren like that. Not talking. Following orders. Naked. As much as he wanted to make use of him, he also wanted to test how far Ren would let him go and he brought up a hand and slapped him hard on his cheek. When he did that, Ren whined, but Hux couldn’t tell if it was from pain or because he liked it.

“Look at you. You’re pathetic.” He hit him on the other side of his face. “Why don’t you make yourself useful while you’re down there?”

Ren slowly reached up and started to undo his pants. He almost seemed unsure, but Hux didn’t give him any further instructions. If he couldn’t figure out what to do, then he was an idiot. Ren soon had Hux’s pants around his ankles and then reached for his cock. He had one hand on his thigh while the other gave him a few slow strokes.

“Is that the best you can do, Ren? Useless.” 

Ren opened his mouth and Hux wasn’t sure if he planned on saying something, but he wasn’t about to give him a chance to speak. He grabbed Ren’s head and shoved his cock inside his mouth. He started to gag and tried to move away, but Hux held him in place and soon, he stopped struggling and Hux continued to use him. As he fucked his mouth, a new thought occurred to him and he removed the knife from inside his sleeve. He’d never considered it before, but now, he wanted nothing more than to see Ren’s blood.

He placed the blade against Ren’s neck and Hux saw a look of worry cross Ren’s face, but he didn’t stop sucking his cock. Taking that as permission to continue, Hux pressed the blade against his skin until there was a thin cut that soon turned bright red with blood. Since Ren didn’t seem opposed to that, he made a second cut, deeper, and still Ren seemed to care for nothing other than the cock in his mouth.

Hux knew that he might come far too soon if Ren kept up the way he was, so he kicked him away from him. He didn’t think he’d kicked that hard, but Ren went sprawling across his floor. Discarding the rest of his clothes, Hux knelt down next to him and started petting his hair. Ren closed his eyes, but then Hux hit him hard in the ass. Ren cried out and Hux hit him again.

Knowing he couldn’t do any serious damage with his hand, he grabbed his belt. He hesitated for a moment before remembering all the times Ren had thrown him around. He brought the belt down on his back and he let out a loud cry. Hearing Ren in pain wasn’t nearly as satisfying as Hux had hoped, and he almost felt bad for him. Even so, he brought the belt down two more times before deciding he’d rather just use his hand.

He grabbed a handful of Ren’s hair and pulled his head up. There were tears in his eyes, but Hux ignored them. If Ren really wanted him to stop, he’d tell him. He dragged Ren to his feet and pushed him towards the bed. Ren dropped back to his hands and knees with his ass towards Hux and he couldn’t resist slapping him a few more times, appreciating the red showing on his skin.

“Should I fuck you?” Hux asked, giving him on last strike before climbing on top of him. Ren let out a needy moan. “Maybe I’ll fuck you with no lube. See how much you cry then.”

As he spoke, Hux dragged a finger from his balls up towards his hole and started to push inside. He didn’t push his finger in too far before pulling it back out. Ren was tight and he didn’t really want to try fucking him without any lube. At the back of his mind, he realized it was Ren’s first time and some part of him almost wanted to make it pleasant for him. But it was Ren, and Hux knew he didn’t deserve that. Looking at the red welts on his back, he knew it was too late to make it an entirely pleasant experience.

He moved off of him and grabbed some lube and when he returned, he couldn’t help but smile at how red Ren’s ass was and he couldn’t resist running a hand over his cheeks. Ren shuddered at the touch. Hux was honestly surprised at how well he was behaving. He didn’t think he’d get away with so much. Having him so compliant was something he could get used to.

Hux put a bit of lube on his finger and pushed it inside of Ren, not caring to be too gentle. Ren didn’t complain, though and Hux started fucking him with his finger. As he did so, Ren put a hand on his cock but Hux slapped him hard with his free hand.

“Did I say you could touch yourself?”

“Hux, please,” he begged.

“Please hit you again?” Hux smacked him again. Before Ren could say anything else, he started pushing a second finger inside him. It took a bit of time to work it inside as he was tight and not nearly as relaxed as he needed to be. He stroked down Ren’s spine, hoping the gentle action might help him relax. Eventually, Hux had his second finger inside him.

He started to stretch Ren’s hole and as he did so, Ren turned over on his back. Hux frowned, not sure what he was doing, but he kept stretching him open. Then Ren grabbed him and pulled him down on top of him. Hux pushed back against him but Ren held on until Hux slapped him in the face.

“What are you doing?” Hux asked, finally able to pull away from Ren.

“I want to kiss you.”

“Well, I don’t want to kiss you.” As soon as he said the words, Hux knew it was a lie. Looking at Ren, naked and wanting under him, he wanted nothing more than to kiss him and assure him that he wouldn’t hurt him. He wanted to kiss his tears away as he softly fucked him and whisper in his ear that he was a good boy.

Hux quickly pushed those thoughts aside and hoped that Ren didn’t pick up on any of that. It would be far more embarrassing for Ren to think he wanted that - whatever that was - than anything else Ren had seen in his mind. Not wanting to be tempted to give in to that desire, Hux grabbed a handful of Ren’s hair and pulled him off the bed. Ren moved easily with him and fell to the floor when Hux pushed him down.

“I’d rather not even look at you,” Hux said, as he returned his attention to Ren’s ass. He managed to get two fingers in relatively easily, and he decided that he was loose enough. He put some lube on his hand and stroked himself a few times before lining his cock up at Ren’s hole. 

Hux wanted to shove himself in, but Ren was still far too tight for that. Slowly, he opened up enough and Hux managed to fully seat himself inside him. He leaned over Ren’s back, one hand stroking his cock while he nibbled on his neck.

“You know, you’re much more pleasant like this,” Hux said. “Maybe I should be fucking you more often.” Ren let out a moan. “You like that idea? Maybe we can change your title to Supreme Slut.”

As he spoke that last part, he pulled out nearly all the way and then slammed back into him. Ren groaned loudly and Hux didn’t know if it was because he enjoyed it or because it hurt him. Hux didn’t care either way. He waited a few more moments before doing it again, leaving less and less time between thrusts.

Hux didn’t care if Ren enjoyed it or not - his only care was getting himself off. Still, he found himself touching Ren’s cock and it didn’t take much stimulation for Ren to come. But Hux wasn’t finished yet. Even though Ren was shaking, Hux continued to fuck him until finally Ren’s arms gave out and he collapsed on the floor. Hux held his hips up and soon with a final thrust, Hux came and fell on top of him.

Neither of them moved for several moments, both of them panting. Hux stayed on top of him until his cock had softened inside of Ren. He pulled out, but paused before getting up. Looking at Ren, Hux could see that he’d definitely been crying at some point and Hux felt bad. He shouldn’t have been so rough on him. Still, Ren had asked for it. Even reminding himself that he had given Ren exactly what he wanted, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. 

And surprisingly, he felt guilty. Ren couldn’t have known what he was asking for. Hux knew that and he shouldn’t have gone along with it. Especially not without discussing it beforehand. But what was done was done. He couldn’t take back what he’d done, but he could at least try to make up for it. He stroked his cheek gently before getting up and heading to the refresher.

He grabbed some bacta and wet a washcloth with some warm water and went back to the bedroom and froze. He thought Ren would still be on the floor, recovering, but instead, he was standing, hastily throwing his clothes back on.

“Kylo?” Hux called and Ren turned towards him, but then looked away quickly.

“I’m almost done,” Kylo said. His body was shaking and Hux wasn’t sure if he was crying or not. “I’ll be out of your way soon.”

“You’re leaving?”

“What else am I supposed to do?”

Hux wanted to tell him to sit down and let himself be taken care of, but Ren always did want to avoid him after sex. He really shouldn’t have been surprised that he was trying to leave quickly. Still, he wanted to do something. “Right. Well, I’ve already got the bacta gel. You can at least let me put it on.”

“Do whatever you want.” Ren continued to dress himself until Hux came over, stopping him from putting his tunic on.

“It’s hard to apply it if you’re trying to get dressed.” When Ren stopped moving around, Hux put a little bit of gel on his fingers and gently rubbed it into the cuts he’d made with his knife as well as the welts on his back. After he finished, he stayed right next to Ren, debating whether or not he should hug him or kiss him. He wanted to touch him, gently, but instead, he stepped away from Ren and he finished dressing then fled.

As Hux watched him go, he realized he had definitely fucked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo technically consents to Hux doing "whatever he wants" but has no idea what he's consenting to. There is no discussion beforehand, no safe words, etc. It's the most fucked up part of this fic and if you want a less detailed version, chapter 8 in the other fic in this series has much less detail.


	9. Chapter 9

Hux couldn’t sleep, which wasn’t too unusual for him. But normally, it was work keeping him up and if that had been the case, Hux wouldn’t have minded. However, it was Kylo Ren’s emotional state that had Hux too worried to do anything more than toss and turn in his bed all night, wondering if he was all right and what he should do.

He hated that he could think of nothing but the way Ren had looked on his floor. What was worse was the fact that he couldn’t stand that thought. He should have loved Ren naked and beaten, lying still, but he hated it. And he hated himself for having done it to him. As much as Ren liked to avoid him after sex, Hux was going to have to find him and talk to him. He had to make sure he hadn’t hurt him too badly.

The next day, after a larger than usual dose of stims, Hux went about his daily duties as normal. He’d hoped Ren might make an appearance on the bridge, but he wasn’t too surprised when he didn’t. After his shift, he gave a few quiet orders that he was to be informed if Ren made an appearance later in the day. Soon after his shift, he was notified that he was on the bridge.

The conversation they needed to have couldn’t be had on the bridge in front of others, but Hux thought that he could at least get Ren into a more private room. He had certainly been eager to get him into an empty conference room before. When he arrived on the bridge, he was surprised to see Ren just about to leave. He called his name, but Ren walked by him, not even looking at him.

As much as Hux needed to talk to him, he knew better than to try to force him to have a conversation. If he wasn’t in the mood to talk, Hux would just wait until he was. It hadn’t taken too long the previous times for Ren to stop avoiding him. Maybe he would send a message and see if he could convince Ren to meet with him.

 

It had been days since Hux had seen or heard from Ren, and given the lack of disturbances on the ship in that time, Hux suspected he had hardly even left his quarters. In fact, the only evidence that he had gone anywhere was the fact that he had retrieved his lightsaber from Hux’s quarters at some point. Hux knew that he should go check on Ren, but he kept telling himself that Ren would come out of his room when he was ready.

No matter how much he told himself that it was unnecessary to check on him or that he was too busy, he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something was very wrong. Even while on shift when he had plenty of other things to occupy his mind, he was always thinking of Ren.

Finally, three days since anyone had last seen the Supreme Leader, Hux felt a terrible pain throughout his body. He didn't need to think about it - he knew it was coming from Ren and that Ren needed him. The only thing that mattered was getting to him and helping him. Hux left the bridge immediately and ran down the hallway to Ren’s quarters. He didn’t bother to request entry and immediately put in his override code instead.

When the door opened, he saw Ren slumped against a wall, his lightsaber laying beside him. For one terrible moment, he thought Ren was dead, but he could see his leg twitching. He had no idea what could have happened to him inside his quarters, but that didn’t matter. The only thing that was important was making him better.

“Kylo!” Hux called out to him as he approached. He lifted his head, but didn’t seem capable of doing much else. “Kylo, what happened? Are you hurt?”

He grabbed Ren’s arm, placing two fingers on the inside of his wrist. His pulse seemed fast, but Hux never trained as a medic. He ran his hands up his arms and down his sides, looking to see if he could find any blood. His hands came away with Ren’s sweat, but there was no blood.

“I’m fine,” Ren muttered.

“No, you’re not. You’re going to medical.” He was about to call for a medical team to collect Ren, but before he could make the call, Ren lifted his hand and pushed his comm out of his hand with the Force. 

“I’m fine,” Ren said. “Just overexerted myself.”

“So why did you summon me like you were in danger?”

“I didn’t.”

“Well, I certainly felt something.” He had no idea how to explain it. The only thing he knew was that he had to get to Ren, and he’d assumed it had been his doing. “What was that then?”

“Wasn’t me.” That was not a helpful answer, but Hux wanted to know what had happened, why he’d felt so compelled to find him. He thought about exactly what happened and how he felt before trying to explain.

“I was on the bridge and suddenly I just had this terrible feeling. About you. And that you were in some kind of distress. I thought something happened.”

“I’m fine,” he said, a tear rolling down his cheek. “You can go now.”

Hux knew that Ren was far from fine. He could still feel that something was very wrong. As Ren continued to cry, it suddenly made sense to him - he was hurt, but it wasn’t a physical injury. It was something inside, and Hux suspected it his fault. He hesitated, not sure what might help, but he eventually decided to sit down next to him. Wanting to test what kind of mood he was in, he put a hand on his shoulder. If he was angry at him, he wasn’t so angry that he wouldn’t allow himself to be touched.

“I did worry about you. After our last encounter. You never responded to any of my messages.” He hadn’t really expected a response, although he realized Ren had likely been in his room the entire time, too upset to do much of anything.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ren muttered.

“Neither do I. But I think we need to.” He’d always preferred the type of relationship where there was no need for much talking, especially regarding feelings. Had it been anyone else, Hux would have ended the relationship already. But he wanted something more with Ren, although he wasn’t quite sure what that was. 

Ren only responded by crying even more. Hux wanted to leave, as he really wasn’t comfortable with such displays of emotion. But in the end, his desire to help Ren won out. He just had no idea what to do or say. The last time he’d cried like that, he’d been a child and ended up getting slapped in the face. He knew that was not the way to approach Ren, so he decided he’d try the opposite of his father’s methods.

“Kylo,” he said as he put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him against his chest. Ren didn’t try to get away and Hux simply held him as he cried and played with his hair.

“Why?” he asked once he’d stopped crying. “Why are you doing this?”

“It’s what you need, isn’t it?” Hux thought that should have been obvious, but perhaps Ren’s life had been just as devoid of affection as his own. It was strange to be holding Ren, but at the same time, he liked it. Not that he would tell Ren that. He continued petting his hair until he thought that Ren might fall asleep on top of him.

“Are you able to move?” Hux felt Ren nod against him. “Good. Because I don’t know what you’ve been doing the last few days, but you are in desperate need of a shower.” He started to stand, pulling Ren up along with him. When he was finally on his feet, Hux thought he might lose balance and Hux wasn’t sure if he could do more than slow his fall, but he managed to stay on his feet.

Once he seemed steady, Hux started walking with him to the refresher, keeping an arm around his waist. He only let go of him once they made it to the refresher and he helped him take his clothes off. He turned the water on for him and led him into the shower, but once he was in, Ren seemed to be capable of taking care of himself. Hux didn’t know if he was relieved or disappointed. As much as he didn’t want to wash him, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to wash that long hair or to kiss him under the running water.

“I noticed you had taken your lightsaber,” he said, not liking where his thoughts were going. He needed to think or talk about anything else. “When you feel up to it, you’ll have to come pick your boots and belt up from my quarters. Or I could bring them to you if you prefer.”

Ren didn’t reply and Hux started to feel like he should leave. He’d already made sure Ren wasn’t dying and taken care of him as best he could. There really didn’t seem to be any reason to stay. Ren didn’t need him there and didn’t seem to be interested in talking to him. But Hux couldn’t make himself leave. It didn’t take long for him to realize that was the right decision.

It looked like Ren had finished washing, but instead of turning the water off, he just stood under the water. Hux wanted to remind him not to waste water and turn it off himself, but before he could speak, he realized that he might end up in an argument with him, and that’s not what he wanted to do. Instead, he decided he’d get his attention and see if he might be able to ease him into a conversation.

“I really do want to know what you did to put yourself in such a state.” 

Ren looked up and then turned the water off. At least he did that much, but Hux was starting to become concerned at how little he had spoken and he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all his fault. He had done that to Ren. He wanted to make up for it somehow, if that were even possible. Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed a towel and started drying him off. As he did so, he noticed that his wounds were not being well cared for.

“Kylo,” he said, gently drying off the area around the cuts below his collarbone. “You haven’t been taking care of your wounds. When was the last time you put bacta on it?”

Ren shook his head but still didn’t speak. Hux took that to mean he hadn’t put bacta on it at all. He sighed. Of course Ren couldn’t manage to do the most basic things to take care of himself. Although Ren seemed perfectly steady and more alert than he had earlier, Hux still took his arm and led him back to the bedroom and then gently pushed him down on the bed. He needed to treat his wounds but he also needed Ren to put on at least some clothing.

Hux didn’t know where he kept anything, but a quick look through some drawers revealed underwear. He set the undergarments down next to him before returning to the refresher, hoping that Ren had a stocked first aid kit. As he was looking for some bacta, he realized that Ren probably hadn’t been eating well either if he couldn’t be bothered to take care of himself in any other way. Not really knowing what Ren would want, he simply ordered some nutrient bars sent to his quarters.

Once he found some bacta, he returned to the bedroom where Ren was laying on the bed. He had put his underwear on, so he was at least able to do some things on his own. He sat down next to him and applied bacta to the cuts on his front and then pulled him up so he could do the same to his back. Those were the only injuries he had inflicted, but Hux looked him over just in case he’d hurt himself since, but he didn’t see anything.

“You don’t need bacta anywhere else?” he asked. Ren shook his head. “You should be using that everyday. Hopefully that doesn’t end up scarring.”

“Because I’m so worried about another scar.”

“These have stories behind them,” Hux said, gently running his finger along the scar on his face. He then brushed across the cut below his collarbone. “I don’t think you’d ever want to tell someone how you got this. Speaking of that, we should talk.”

“Not now.”

“I’m not letting you put this off. It’s important.” He knew Ren didn’t want to talk about it, and Hux really didn’t either, but it had to be done and it was better to just get things over with. Hux took a moment to figure out what he wanted to say. Although he knew that the conversation was coming, he hadn’t planned out his exact words.

“I know I overstepped and pushed your limits too far. And I wanted to apologize for that. I can’t imagine you’d ever want to do anything like that again, and I understand. I won’t push you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

He thought he’d said the right things, but Ren just stared at him. Hux couldn’t imagine what objections Ren could possibly have to what he said. Before he could think of anything else to say, Ren finally spoke up.

“I don’t understand.”

“I can’t imagine what’s hard to understand about that.” He’d said it as simply as he could and he couldn’t see where Ren’s confusion was coming from. But maybe it had something to do with the state he’d found him in - perhaps he’d mentally exhausted himself as well and wasn’t thinking clearly.

“You didn’t even do anything.”

“Kylo, you were in tears when I was done.” Hux really didn’t want to think about that. He hated remembering how he’d felt as he looked at him on the floor, knowing he had done that to him. “Obviously, I hurt you far more than you were anticipating. I know what you told me, but I never should have taken it so seriously. I should have at least made sure you were still enjoying yourself.”

“I was. I wasn’t crying because of what you did. Trust me, I’ve been through much worse. Snoke used to torture me for days at a time as part of my training.”

“Because comparing what I did to you to actual torture makes things so much better.” His heart sank as he thought about what he’d done to Ren. And to make it worse, Ren seemed to be asking him to do it again. He knew what it was like to be hurt, but he couldn’t imagine what had been done to Ren to make him actively seek it out. He brought a hand up to his face and gently stroked his cheek with his thumb. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

“I didn’t want to ruin the moment,” he muttered as he pressed his face into Hux’s hand. “Still don’t.”

“Ren, if I’m doing something to you that you don’t like, I need to know. I can’t read your mind. How is this relationship supposed to work if you feel like you’re being tortured?”

“What relationship?” Ren asked. He reached up and took Hux by the wrist and pushed his hand away from his face. “Don’t pretend that you’re doing any of this because you care. We both know you want something from me.”

“That’s not…” Hux wanted to say it wasn’t true, but he didn’t want to lie to him. “I mean, yes.” Before he could explain that wanting things was only how it started, the door buzzed. Knowing it was likely the food he’d ordered for Ren, he got up and answered the door. 

The droid at the door asked him to verify that everything was correct and Hux glanced over the tray. There was a glass of water and three nutrient bars. He took the tray and dismissed the droid before returning to the bedroom. He put the tray down on the small table next to the bed.

“I thought you might be hungry. When was the last time you ate?”

“Apparently days ago.” He sat up and took the glass and took a sip before looking at him. “You can stop pretending you care.”

“I’m not pretending.” He didn’t see why it even mattered to Ren if he was pretending or not. After all, he was getting everything he wanted. And of course, Hux wasn’t pretending. At some point, he had definitely started to feel something for Ren. 

“You wanted to shoot me not that long ago,” Ren said as he put the glass down. “You really think I believe that you care about my well being? It’s even more laughable that you’re pretending to care about hurting me. You’ve been imagining yourself doing far worse to me for years.”

“Things change.” Hux knew Ren was trying to get him to snap, but he wanted to prove to him that he had changed his mind about him.

“Yes, now the person you can give you want you want is someone you also find attractive. And you really didn’t hesitate to take advantage, did you?” Hux knew exactly where Ren was going with that, but he hoped he’d leave it at that. But of course, Ren never knew when to shut up. “You’re such a s-”

As soon as Ren had started speaking again, Hux lunged forward and grabbed him by the neck, making it impossible for him to finish that sentence. It wasn’t long before Hux felt an invisible hand around his own neck. He couldn’t maintain his grip for long and soon he let loosened his hand. Ren also released him and Hux collapsed on top of Ren’s chest.

Hux couldn’t believe that they had just choked each other. But really, given their history together, he shouldn’t have been surprised. He couldn’t help but laugh as he thought about just how absurd the situation was.

“And to think I was trying to convince you I do care about you.” He sat up enough so he could look at Ren, who looked very confused. Maybe he hadn’t quite processed what had happened.

“Try harder next time,” he muttered.

“Fine.” That was something Hux could very easily do. He got up and removed his uniform, quickly folding it before returning to the bed. He laid down next to Ren, wrapping an arm around him.

“What are you doing?”

“You seemed to like it when I held you earlier. Thought I’d try it again.”

That seemed to be a good enough answer, as Ren didn’t say anything else. He settled in his arms and soon fell asleep. Hux waited until he was certain he was asleep and let go of him, sitting up slightly. There was a time not too long ago when he wouldn’t have hesitated to end his life had he come across him asleep. But Hux had no desire to do so.

It was strange, he thought as he brushed a strand of hair out of Ren’s face. How had things changed so quickly? And why? He knew that he should feel nothing but resentment and hatred towards Ren, but that was no longer the case. He lightly kissed his lips before settling back down beside him.

“I’m not entirely certain, Ren, but I think I might love you.”


	10. Chapter 10

Never in his life had Hux been slow to answer a call. It was a sure sign that something was wrong with him that even though there were several different alerts going off, he wanted to stay right where he was in bed, holding Ren. But it wasn’t just his comm and datapad beeping - Ren’s were going off as well. Someone was clearly desperate to reach at least one of them. And if anyone was trying that hard to reach Ren, something was seriously wrong.

Hux started to get up, but before he got far, he found his comm floating towards him. He couldn’t help but think it was a shame how Ren used his gifts, but there was no time to worry about Ren’s shortcomings. He plucked his comm out of the air and answered it, ending at least one series of beeping.

“This is Hux.”

“General,” a woman said on the other end, “this is Colonel Peton. There’s been an uprising on Kestri. We’re attempting to contact Supreme Leader Ren, but -”

“He’s with me,” Hux informed her. He was already out of bed and grabbing his uniform from where he had left it. It wasn’t going to be in the best condition, but hopefully no one would notice.

“Two of my Knights are already there,” Ren said, still in bed. “They might have it under control before we can get there.”

“Understood, Supreme Leader.” The colonel signed off and the rest of the beeping in the room stopped. Hux was almost fully dressed when he looked back at Ren, wondering why he was so calm. He might have put it down to the fact that he was still tired but there was something else that seemed off about the whole thing.

“You seem unconcerned about the situation,” Hux remarked. Perhaps Ren would let him in on why that was. “Why were your Knights even there?”

“The diplomatic meeting,” Ren said, as if that were a proper answer. At least he was starting to put his clothes on. “I got a feeling from whatever his name was. Like he didn’t like me. My Knights were just observing. Not causing trouble.”

Of course Ren decided to send his Knights to a planet because their leader didn’t like him. Hux wasn’t even surprised at that. But if Ren was telling the truth and his Knights hadn’t caused any problems, then Hux had to admire his foresight. He hadn’t expected anything to go wrong with a long-time partner like Kestri.

“Are you stopping by your quarters before you go to the bridge?”

“I really don’t have time. Feel free to go get your boots if you want.”

“Your uniform is a mess. You should probably change.”

Hux looked down at his uniform and saw that it was completely wrinkled on the front. Ren had been responsible for that. He remembered how he had buried his face against his chest and cried. Had it just been slightly wrinkled from being on the floor, Hux might have gotten away with it, but someone would certainly notice it in it’s current state. Not to mention it had Ren’s tears and who knew what else. He didn’t want to have that on him all day.

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll see you on the bridge, then.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Hux wasn’t going to argue with him and he really didn’t care if Ren wanted to accompany him. He glanced down at his feet and saw that he didn’t have any boots on and realized Ren didn’t have much of a choice but to pick his boots up from his quarters. He wanted to ask why he didn’t have an extra pair of boots, but it was not the time.

As they approached his quarters, the door slid open on its own and it took Hux a moment to realize Ren had done that with the Force. At least he could do something useful with his powers every once in a while. Hux went to get a clean uniform and dressed as quickly as he could. Still, by the time he had finished, Ren had left.

Hux needed to head to the bridge but instead, he just stood in his quarters, finally alone so he could process what had happened. He still didn’t know when he’d started to care for Ren, but he couldn’t deny that he did. Briefly, he wondered if he might have some rare, terminal illness. There wasn’t time to worry about that or to worry about his feelings for Ren, as there was currently a crisis to deal with.

When he arrived on the bridge, he saw Ren talking to Colonel Peton. Captain Peavey was also present, and Ren should have been talking to him, as he was the highest ranking officer. Perhaps Ren didn’t know that. Or didn’t care. As he watched and listened to them, Hux realized that it was likely that Ren simply didn’t like him. He couldn’t blame him, of course. Peavey was competent enough, although he did think too highly of himself.

Hux listened as Ren quickly dismissed Peavey’s plans to subdue the uprising and he was glad for it. Although Peavey’s plan likely would have worked, it would have been a massive waste of resources. But it made him wonder if Ren actually had something else in mind or if he just wanted conflict with the captain.

“Do you have a plan or are you just making him mad?” Hux asked once Peavey had gone. He still kept his voice low so no one would overhear.

“What?”

“Peavey’s plan. Did you reject it just because you don’t like him? Not that it matters. It wasn’t a good idea, so I’m glad you stopped it, regardless of why.” He didn’t want Ren to think he was upset with what he did. They were managing to get along and Hux didn’t want Ren to take things the wrong way and ruin that.

“Pick another ship to accompany us to Kestri,” Ren ordered. “And then make the jump to lightspeed.”

Hux immediately sent orders to another ship and they were on their way soon. It was then that Hux realized that Ren had never answered his question about his plan. Before he could try asking again, Ren was giving out orders to the rest of the crew and sending most of them back to their quarters. Hux wanted to argue but then he realized that it made sense. He never thought he’d see the day when Ren was being sensible. 

Once Ren had finished delivering orders, he went and stood by a viewport. Hux watched him, briefly wondering what he could possibly be looking at, but then turned his attention to more important things, such as all the information coming in from Kestri.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have nearly as much information as he would have liked. There was a report of a miner’s protest and then a mob forming at the First Order outpost on the planet with estimates of group sizes. Other than that, there was no further information. They sent a request for an update, but there was nothing to do but wait.

Hux went over everything they knew about the planet, including their military strength, planetary defenses, and geography. At least they had plenty of that kind of information, which was enough to let Hux start forming a plan. He knew the most difficult thing was going to be landing ground forces anywhere near where they needed to be. Their were too many cannons on the ground that would take out their landing craft. He’d need to send fighters out to clear the way, which would also likely cause damage to the surrounding areas. It was a shame to damage a place that had been loyal for so long, but Hux didn’t feel too bad about it.

He sent out his orders, wanting his people to know what they were doing as soon as possible. As he did so, Hux noticed that Ren was still standing exactly where he had been earlier. As far as Hux could tell, he hadn’t moved at all. Hux walked over and stood next to him, but Ren still didn’t move.

“Supreme Leader?” he asked. Ren looked over at him and seemed surprised to see him. “Are you feeling well?”

“I was talking to my Knights. One has infiltrated the mob that took over our base, and the other is scouting a landing site for us. Once we arrive, we can be on the ground quickly and hopefully end this within the day.”

“I hope you have more of a plan than that,” Hux said. Of course, it didn’t matter if he didn’t because Hux already made several plans. Still, he wished Ren would have been able to come up with something on his own. 

“We’re working on it. We have several hours before we arrive and things could change by then.” Ren stepped away from him and went back to looking out the viewport. If Ren didn’t want to talk any further, then Hux wouldn’t press him. He’d wanted to go over his own plans with him, but he really didn’t need his input.

Once they arrived, Hux had the planet scanned. Immediately, he realized that his plans were going to change. Somehow, the planetary defenses had already been sabotaged. He glanced at Ren, wondering if his Knights had anything to do with that. But he didn’t have time to ask as he needed to revise orders. Instead of sending the fighters to destroy the defenses, Hux would have them escorting the transports just to make sure there were no other defenses. There were still no reports from their base, so Hux had to assume they had been overrun. He’d send troops to take that back and then into the capital city as well.

He was looking at other large cities and trying to decide whether or not he wanted to send troops to any other areas when Ren called him. He looked at him, waiting for him to say something, but he just looked at him for a while. Finally, he pulled his cape off his shoulders and draped it over Hux.

“Take care of that for me.”

“What?” It took Hux a moment to realize what Ren meant by that. He’d already started to walk away, but Hux reached out and grabbed him, only realizing after the fact that he was in full view of the crew. But that didn’t matter at the moment. He needed to talk some sense into Ren.

“You can’t seriously be planning on going on the ground yourself.”

“Of course I am. It’s what I do.”

“It’s what you did. You’re more than just a Knight now. You’re the Supreme Leader. You can’t just go throwing yourself into dangerous situations.” It would not be good for the First Order to change leaders again so suddenly. Surely Ren realized that. Hux knew that would give him the opportunity to take over for Ren, but he didn’t want to lose him.

“I can do whatever I want, General.” He pulled his arm out of Hux’s hold and they stared at each other. Hux wanted to ask him again not to go, but he’d already made up his mind.

“Ren!” Hux called as he started walking away. He turned and realized he didn’t know what to say. Or more accurately, he didn’t want to tell Ren to be careful in front of the entire bridge.

“Don’t worry, General,” Ren said. As he spoke, Hux felt a gentle touch on his cheek and he started to lean into it before he realized what Ren was doing. “I will be.”

Hux wasn’t even mad that he’d read his mind. In fact, he was glad that Ren had done that so he didn’t need to say that out loud. He hoped Ren hadn’t found out exactly how he felt, but even if he had, Hux thought that he might be okay with that.

Once Ren was gone, Hux turned his attention to the screens showing what was happening on the ground. It didn’t take long for new reports to start coming in and Hux updated orders as necessary. Surprisingly it only took a couple of hours for things to look like they were under control. They had taken back their outpost, suppressed the protest at the mine and occupied the capital city. It wasn’t hard to figure out that Kestri’s governor had been the one to start the uprising and he was the last thing they needed to take care of before they could consider the mission a success.

It would have been very simple to pull their troops out of the area and simply blast the governor’s mansion from orbit, but it was a historical building. If they wanted to keep the people of Kestri happy with them, Hux knew they couldn’t destroy it. He sent orders to the troops on the ground to minimize any damage to the structure itself, and he was fully confident his troops would be able to manage that until he heard Ren’s transmission.

Ren ordered all the troops to watch the perimeter and called for what Hux assumed were his Knights to accompany him inside. He looked up the information on the Knights of Ren and saw the names that Ren had said. Which meant three Rens would be attempting to handle what should be a delicate operation. 

Because all the troops were outside, there were no reports coming in of just what was happening inside the mansion. Hux hated not knowing and was thinking about sending a squad inside just to send reports back. Before he could do so, he felt a horrible pain inside. He had no idea where it could be coming from and for a moment, he thought he might be dying. But then he realized it wasn’t him. It was Ren.

There were no reports coming in yet, but Hux knew he had to get to Ren. He ordered another troop landing craft to be prepared and headed to the hangar. By the time he got to the hangar, an explosion inside the mansion had been reported, although there was no mention of any injuries. The only new thing reported by the time Hux had landed was that they were working to clear the area of any more explosives.

A squad of troops followed him off the shuttle and into the mansion, but before they could get very far, the captain in charge on the ground stood in their way.

“General, sir,” they said. “We have not yet secured the rest of the building. It’s not advised to go any further yet.”

“Noted.” Hux knew that it could be dangerous and there could be any number of traps or enemies waiting inside. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had to get Ren. But that didn’t mean he needed to risk the others. He ordered them to stay with the others and work and clearing the building of traps or combatants. But he was going to find Ren.

There was no way he should have known where to find him, but somehow, he just knew where to turn. It didn’t take long for him to find a pile of rubble and when he climbed over that, he found Ren lying on the floor, with two others dressed in black sitting by his side. One was wearing their helmet along with their robes, but the other Knight seemed to have lost her helmet and Hux could see that she had a few cuts on her face.

Both Knights seemed to notice him at the same time, but the masked one looked back at Ren while the other looked like she wanted to kill him. Hux had no idea what that was about, but he couldn’t worry about that. All he could focus on was Ren, so still on the ground.

“What happened?” Hux asked.

“None of your business,” the unmasked Knight snapped.

“He’s the Supreme Leader! His well being most certainly is my business!”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it!”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Hux had no idea what she was on about, but that wasn’t important. Ren was beginning to stir and Hux was far more worried about him. “What are the extent of his injuries? We need to get him out of here.”

“Do you plan on carrying him?”

“Use your sorcery or whatever you have to do!” he shouted. He couldn’t believe he needed to tell her to get him to the medical team. It should have been common sense. “Get him better or get him back to the ship!”

“I don’t answer to you, General! Why are you even here?”

“He needs help! And the medical team can’t get in until this building’s been cleared, so I need you two to stop being useless and get him out of here!”

For a moment, he thought the Knight was about to attack him, but Ren moved, pulling the Knight towards him. She turned her attention towards him and seemed to calm down. But she made no move to try to get Ren out of the building. At least he was moving, but Hux was worried about injuries he might have sustained.

“Hux,” Ren said, starting to sit up, but the quieter Knight held him down. “What do you mean this building hasn’t been cleared?”

“The troops need to ensure there’s no more combatants or bombs before they can move the debris to allow the medical team in. Can’t you order your people to take you out of here?”

“If it’s not safe, what are you doing here?” Ren wasn’t very loud, but Hux thought it was because he wasn’t capable of shouting. He could feel Ren’s rage and he couldn’t help but flinch at the thought of what he might do to him. But he remained on his feet, leaving him free to shout back at Ren.

“You’re here! What am I supposed to do when you go and get yourself blown up? Just sit back and wait while your useless Knights hold your hand?” If anyone should have been holding Ren’s hand, it should have been him.

He didn’t have long to wonder where the urge to hold Ren’s hand came from because the angry Knight was on her feet with her lightsaber ignited. She held the yellow blade at his neck, but he didn’t flinch. She wouldn’t hurt him unless Ren ordered her to do so. And at the moment, he was rather confident he didn’t want to hurt him.

“You’d better show him some respect! He’s hurt and doesn’t need you shouting at him!”

“Because hand holding is what he needs.”

“As if you would know what he needs! After everything you’ve done to him -”

“Stop.”

As soon as Ren spoke, the Knight turned her weapon off and returned to Ren’s side. She took his hand again, and Hux wondered just what she thought he had done to Ren. If anyone should be complaining, it should have been him. When the Knight looked up at him, he could see that she was still angry but she smirked at him. Hux had no idea what he’d done to anger her, and he doubted she had any plans to tell him.

“Is there any way the two of you could be convinced to move him out of here?” Hux asked, trying to stay calm. Yelling at the Knights had done nothing so he decided to try a different approach. “Or do I need to drag him?”

“If you even think about touching him -”

“Lys,” Ren interrupted. “Hux is right. We need to leave.” He tried sitting up again but he was held down by the masked Knight.

“Don’t move, Master,” the Knight said. “We’ll see to your safety.”

“Teris, I want you to make sure the general is safe as well.” The masked Knight nodded and glanced in Hux’s direction. He was a little surprised to hear Ren give that order but he could only hope that the quieter Knight didn’t hate him nearly as much as the loud one.

At least they finally started to move Ren out. Ren floated in the air and they headed towards the exit. Teris, the masked Knight, was the first to go over the rubble pile and as soon as he was over, Hux heard blaster fire and the sound of a lightsaber. He pulled his own blaster out and started over the rubble, but the other Knight held him back.

“Guard our backs,” she said. 

He wanted to argue with her, but there was no time as the Knight was already floating Ren away. It was more important that Ren get to safety than anything else, so he simply kept an eye out for any danger. He didn’t encounter any trouble on the way out and soon they had Ren outside and on a stretcher. 

Hux followed Ren and his Knights, planning on staying with them, but one of the Knights turned on him, still with rage in her eyes. Before she could say anything the other Knight pushed her back and shook his head, then turned his attention to Hux.

“General,” he said, “I believe your goal here is accomplished.”

“What do you mean?”

“You came here to ensure our Master’s safety. You’ve done that. Leave him to us now.”

“But -”

“If for no other reason, it will give Master Kylo some peace while he’s recovering. I don’t believe Lys likes you and she will not stop arguing with you.”

“Yes, of course.” He watched as the two Knights followed Ren onto a shuttle, wanting nothing more than to be with them. But Ren was safe, and that was the important thing. He had other duties to attend to, so it wasn’t as if he could have stayed with Ren any longer than the shuttle ride back to the ship.

Or at least, he told himself that so he would have no reason to feel jealous.


	11. Chapter 11

After the situation on Kestri had been as resolved as it could get, Hux finally had a chance to rest. He hated to leave anything unsettled, but there was only so much he could do without Ren’s approval. Still, Hux had ensured that there would be no further trouble on the planet until Ren was fit to deal with the leaders of the uprising. They were all in custody, but Hux had decided to delay their executions in hopes that Ren would interrogate them and find out if it seemed likely for any further uprisings to occur.

Instead of heading to his quarters where he might be able to get a few hours of sleep, he found himself heading down to medical. Although he knew that Ren was perfectly fine, he wanted to see him. The entire time he was walking, he told himself he was wasting his time and that he should just head back to his quarters.

He seemed unable to talk himself out of seeing Ren. He just needed to see him, make sure he was fine, and then he’d leave. There would be no need to stay long or even talk to Ren. 

When he made it to Ren’s recovery room, Hux froze. He hadn’t expected to find Ren in bed with both of his Knights cuddled up next to him. His first thought upon seeing them was that he should be the one with Ren. Hux also couldn’t help but wonder about the nature of their relationship. Before he could put much thought into that, the Knight behind him stirred.

Of course, that just happened to be the Knight who hated him - Lys Ren. He’d looked up all the information the First Order had on the two Knights that were presently on board. There wasn’t much data on either of them and certainly nothing that would indicate why she hated him so much. But he did learn that she was an expert with several weapons, including multiple types of blasters. At least she wasn’t armed at the moment.

She sat up, glaring at him, but that wasn’t nearly enough to intimidate Hux. Although he’d only wanted to see Ren, he wasn’t about to leave and let Lys think she had scared him off. He’d very rarely felt intimidated by Ren and Lys was not nearly as bad as he was.

“Get out of here,” she growled at him as she wrapped an arm around Ren. Hux wanted nothing more than to pry her arm off of him.

“No.” 

“You’re not supposed to be here!”

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t be allowed to see the Supreme Leader.”

“The last thing he needs is you.”

“That’s unfortunate, because I’m not going away until I have an update on his status.” He really didn’t need that as he had received the latest updates on his datapad, but he needed some excuse as to why he wouldn’t leave because he wasn’t about to admit the truth to Lys.

“He’s fine. Go away.”

“It’s okay, Lys,” Ren muttered, stirring slightly. “I want him here.”

“Master, he’s not good for you.”

“I don’t believe we’ve actually met before,” Hux said, taking a few steps closer to the bed. He hated the way the Knight was trying to keep them apart and he wasn’t going to let her get between them if he could help it. “Did I do something to make you hate me this much?”

“You know what you’ve done to our master.”

Hux couldn’t believe that was what caused Lys to hate him so much, but he probably shouldn’t have been surprised given that she was one of Ren’s people. It seemed just like something Ren would do. “I don’t know what he’s told you, but he asked me to do those things to him. He’s done far worse to me. And I didn’t ask for it.”

“Not that. It’s what happens to him after -”

“Lys, please,” Ren said before she could finish. Hux really wanted to know what she had been about to say, what he’d apparently done to Ren, but Ren kept talking. “Hux, did you actually come here to see me?”

“I need to make sure you’re healing. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.” It was a flimsy excuse but Hux wasn’t about to admit how much he had wanted to see him.

“You could have commed the doctors,” Ren said with a smile. “There really is no reason you had to come down here yourself.”

“You’re right.” If Ren didn’t want him there, then he would leave. He’d already seen that Ren was perfectly fine.

“Wait, Hux,” Ren called as he turned to leave. “Stay.”

Hux turned back to face him and looked at his Knights. “It seems you have plenty of company already.” Had they not been there, Hux would have been more than happy to stay with him. He’d thought their relationship had changed for the better, but clearly, he preferred others.

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you. You really don’t need to be. What you and I have is very different than what I have with my Knights.”

“What is it we have, again?” They’d never actually discussed what their relationship was, and Hux didn’t want to do it with his Knights present, but if Ren thought it was the time to discuss that, then so be it.

“Hux, stop talking and come over here. I know you want to.” It took Hux a moment to realize exactly what Ren was asking of him. It wasn’t until he told his Knights to make room that he fully understood.

“You think I want to crawl in bed with you and your Knights? Ren, you’re an idiot. I would -” The rest of his sentence was cut off with a cry of surprise as he found himself lifted into the air and gently placed on the bed between Kylo and the nicer of his Knights.

“What are you doing, Ren?” He wanted to get up, but he suspected Ren wouldn’t let him get far.

“Just expediting,” the man behind him grumbled. “I’m trying to sleep. And it’ll take the two of you forever to just admit what you want. So shut up, General. You too, Master.”

“Where did the medical staff even get a bed large enough for this?” Hux didn’t recall approving a purchase of an extra large bed that could hold four people. It was ridiculous. Why would they even need such a thing? He immediately forgot about the unnecessarily large bed when he felt a leg brush against his. 

“Ren, your Knight is touching me.”

“Calm down, Hux,” Ren said. “He’s not going to hurt you.” He reached a hand up and touched Hux’s face, which was nice but not enough for Hux to really ignore the strange man touching him. He wasn’t worried about the Knight harming him - it was just weird.

“Ren!” Hux nearly shouted when the Knight wrapped an arm around him.

“Yes, General?” the Knight answered.

“You really need to be more specific.”

“I don’t like this, Kylo,” Hux said. Even as he argued against what was happening, he also had to admit having someone hold him was almost nice. He just wished it was Ren and that the others weren’t there. “I agreed to have a relationship with you, not your Knights.”

“You don’t have a relationship with him,” Lys spoke up from Ren’s other side. “You’re an experiment.”

“Hux, just relax,” Ren said. “My Knights won’t harm you. Teris is already doing his worst to you.”

That really wasn’t the point, but he didn’t have time to explain that to Ren because the Knights continued to talk.

“I can do quite a bit worse if I don’t get enough sleep,” Teris said.

“And you need to rest, Master,” Lys said.

Ren pulled Hux a bit closer so he could kiss him on top of the head. “We’ll talk later. I’m sorry.”

Hux was about to ask what he was apologizing for, but instead found himself falling into a deep sleep.

 

It was rare that Hux woke up feeling well-rested and he didn’t think he’d ever been so warm and comfortable. He really wanted to stay right where he was but it didn’t take him long to remember exactly where he was and how he had ended up like that.

He sat up quickly, looking down at Ren and his Knights. He couldn’t help but want to put his head back down on Ren’s shoulder, although as he glanced at Teris, he would have preferred to simply take his place. He tried to push away any thoughts of wanting to cuddle with Ren away and focused on what Ren had done.

“Ren! What did you do to me?”

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I was tired and you weren’t going to stop complaining. So I made you stop.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t have had anything to complain about if you didn’t make me get involved in…” Hux had to think for a moment and then realized he had no words for what was occurring and simply waved his hand over the bed. “Whatever this is!”

“Yet you’re still here with us,” Ren said with a smirk. “And to be fair, I’m not the one who dragged you into bed.”

“And I wasn’t holding you down. You could have left. But you didn’t.”

“What’s your point?” Hux didn’t mean to snap, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated at Ren and the others.

Ren sat up and took his hand. Hux frowned at him, not sure what he was doing, but he didn’t pull away. “We could feel that you wanted to be with us. Or with me. And I know it must have been strange having the others here, but you liked it. It’s okay if you don’t want to admit it.”

“You’re delusional,” he said as he pulled his hand away and finally got up. He should have done that as soon as he woke up, but he knew Ren was partially right. On some level, he did enjoy being with Ren like that, but he hated that Ren knew feelings that he couldn’t even admit to.

“This isn’t going to happen again,” Hux said. “I do have other things to do besides take naps.”

“Sorry.” At least he had the decency to actually sound like he meant it. “Hux?”

“What?”

“When you found me after the explosion. Why were you there? You shouldn’t have been on the planet at all.”

“You were in trouble and needed help.” He knew that wasn’t what Ren was asking, but he didn’t really want to talk about it.

“How did you know? That I was injured.”

“There was an explosion reported and of course you had to be involved because when aren’t you throwing yourself into danger? Even after promising to be careful.” He didn’t need to mention that he had already been on his way when he learned about the explosion. It was a reasonable answer and Ren was silent and Hux thought that it had been enough. 

“Tell me the truth, Armitage,” Ren said, almost pleading.

Hux sighed. He really didn’t want to think about what exactly had summoned him to the planet, but he knew Ren would get his answers one way or another. “Do you remember when I found you in your quarters? It was similar to that. I could… feel that you were hurt and I knew I had to get to you.”

“That’s not possible.” Lys was on her feet, looking as enraged as ever. Hux didn’t understand why that would have angered her, but even the other Knight seemed very interested. Or at least, he looked awake, which Hux hadn’t really seen in him.

“I don’t see why not,” Hux said, unable to stop himself from arguing with Lys. “You do all kinds of things with your sorcery. What’s so strange about that?”

“Because it would mean you can feel exactly what we feel when Kylo’s hurt. You’re not one of us. You’re nothing but a -”

“Lys,” Ren cut her off. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back onto the bed. Hux couldn’t help but wish he were in her place as Ren put his arms around her. She cuddled up against him and placed a kiss on his jaw. Hux looked away, not wanting to think about what Ren did with his Knights.

“Well, I’m sure I have work to catch up on.”

“I better go too,” Lys said as she sat up. “Hieron will be here soon.”

“Another Knight?” As soon as he asked that, Hux realized that was the only person it could be. And he’d seen the name on the list of the Knights. “Will each of you require your own quarters?”

None of them said anything, they just looked at each other and then the two Knights started laughing. Hux frowned and Ren smiled. “Hux,” he said. “Look at us. What do you think?”

“Right. Well, if you need anything, don’t bother me about it.” Obviously, the Knights could take care of their needs themselves and clearly they didn’t want or need his help. He finally left, needing to get back to work. He’d wasted far too much time with Ren.

When he heard someone behind him, he turned and saw he would have to delay his return to work just a little longer. Although he could have ignored Lys, he really wanted to figure out just why she hated him so much. If she would even talk to him. At least Ren wasn’t there to interrupt her anymore.

“You need to stay away from him,” Lys growled.

“Why? We’re both adults. We can make our own decisions.” He’d hoped to get off on a better note, but that likely wasn’t even possible with Lys. She’d hated him since she first saw him and as far as Hux could tell, there was no reason for it.

“You’re not good enough for him. All you do is hurt him.”

“You’ve mentioned that but you still haven’t told me what I’ve actually done to him. I really can’t recall a time when I threw him across a ship.”

“How typical. Only thinking of yourself.”

“Yes, well, you’ve made it perfectly clear what you think of me. Do you ever have any intention of telling me exactly why?”

“If you hurt Kylo, I will tear you apart, one piece at a time and scatter you across the galaxy.”

Hux resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the threat. It was far from the worst threat he’d heard, although he suspected that she might just carry that out if Ren would allow it. But Ren seemed rather satisfied with their arrangement, so he wasn’t too worried about that.

“Hurting him has never been my intention,” Hux said. Then he realized that wasn’t entirely true and that he was standing in front of a mind reader. “At least not with our present situation. So unless someone actually tells me what the problem is, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do to help.”

He didn’t expect her to answer so he took off, heading back to his quarters. To his surprise, she went with him, walking by his side but staying silent. Hux didn’t like her so close to him, but he was fairly certain Ren wouldn’t give her permission to stab him in the corridor of his ship. He just had to hope the Knight wasn’t as impulsive as she seemed.

“You know what he’s like,” she said after a while.

“I’m afraid I do. What does that have to do with anything?”

“He’s emotional. He feels things very strongly.”

“I don’t understand.” He knew she was right, but he didn’t quite understand what that had to do with how he was hurting Ren or why Lys hated him. 

“That’s how you’re hurting him.”

“Do any of the Knights of Ren ever speak clearly?” Hux asked, growing frustrated with the lack of a straight answer. Ren had been much the same when he first met him, and he still was. It was almost as if they forgot that not everyone was a mind reader.

“I don’t know how else to explain it,” she said. “Maybe you’re the problem. You don’t strike me as the type of person who understands what an emotion is.”

With that, she stormed off. She was very much like Ren, and Hux couldn’t help but wonder if all the Knights were the same way. If so, having a third one come on board did not bode well for the budget. But maybe one of them might tell him exactly what was going on with Ren and if he was really harming him.


	12. Chapter 12

Because of his unplanned nap, there was a large amount of work for him to catch up on him. That meant he had plenty to distract himself with and there was no need to think about Ren or his Knights. He did take notice of an unscheduled shuttle that was given clearance to land. He assumed it was the new Knight that was arriving, and although it was nothing he needed to concern himself with, he found himself looking at the camera feeds from the hangar.

He frowned at the ship that he saw docked - it was filthy and beat up and looked completely out of place among the sleek First Order ships. He knew the Knights of Ren operated on their own, and that included their ships, but he really wished that they had some standards. He briefly considered looking in the budget to see if there was room to give them nicer ships, but he knew they'd only end up in terrible condition, as he didn't imagine the Knights would take very good care of them.

Still, Hux hated seeing that ugly ship sitting on his hangar. He briefly wondered about ordering it to be cleaned, but it wouldn’t be worth the resources. He didn’t imagine the Knights would stay long - they were never on board for more than a few days. And just like he knew they wouldn't take care of a new ship, they wouldn't appreciate the time it took to clean the ship and keep it that way.

He watched as a lone figure dressed in all black descended from the ramp. He could tell nothing about them, but they were met by another Knight. Hux assumed it was Lys as she had mentioned wanting to prepare for the new Knight’s arrival, but she had her mask on, which made it impossible for Hux to tell. The two Knights appeared to have a brief conversation in which they touched each other’s arms and then touched their helmets together, and then they left.

Realizing there was nothing he would learn from watching the Knights, Hux turned the feed off. It wasn’t as if the new arrival would be holding up a sign telling him exactly what was going on with Ren or why Lys hated him. And he really shouldn’t care about any of that anyway. If Ren wanted to continue their relationship, that was the only thing that mattered. He shouldn’t worry about what the Knights thought or if he was hurting Ren. The only thing that was actually a concern was how Ren had been calling out to him through the Force.

Lys had said it shouldn’t have been possible, but Hux knew that it was happening. He had assumed that it had been an intentional thing on Ren’s part, but both times, he seemed unaware that he had called him at all. Hux didn’t like that. If Ren started calling to him more frequently, it could become a problem. Especially since Hux could feel things he shouldn’t. The last thing he needed was to be in a middle of a battle and feeling anything from Ren.

He shouldn’t even be thinking of Ren, but he’d already resigned himself to the fact that he couldn’t stop himself. Especially as he headed to the bridge. Unless there was some kind of crisis, he usually had plenty of time where his thoughts could drift towards Ren. He almost hoped that the situation on Kestri started to get worse again just to give himself something else to focus on.

Once on the bridge, he found that things were just as quiet as expected. He responded to reports and tried to distract himself with the fuel status of the shuttles, but there really was nothing for him to change. Everything was running as smoothly as he had planned for. So of course, he went back to thinking about Ren and whatever strange connection they seemed to have.

Hux had no experience with such things and not so long ago, he wouldn’t have even been convinced it was possible. But there really was no other explanation for how he could feel such things from Ren. As much as he hated to admit it, the Force was one of those things he just couldn’t understand. Which meant he had to rely on Ren and the others to figure out how to fix their problem. 

That brought another issue to his mind. If he needed the Knights of Ren to get rid of whatever was connecting him to Ren, would they help? Lys Ren clearly hated him. Teris Ren seemed a bit more decent, although somehow, Hux suspected he wasn’t the talkative type. The new Knight was an unknown. He didn’t think any of them would be of use.

But Ren himself might be. Now that he thought about it, Ren had never had a chance to say anything about their connection. As soon as he mentioned it, Lys had started yelling and then he left. If Ren hadn’t intentionally called him, maybe he would be just as eager to get rid of whatever it was between them. He just had to hope that Ren would know what to do.

Hux checked his datapad and saw that Ren was still in medical. That was a good thing, at least. He couldn’t remember a time that Ren had actually stayed there as long as he needed to. Getting him there at all was usually a chore. Perhaps having his Knights around was a good thing.

When he returned to his quarters, he couldn’t help but look at Ren’s status once again and he frowned when he saw that he had been discharged. Of course it had been too much to hope for that he’d stay for another few days, but Hux knew that his injuries weren’t so severe that he needed to be under medical care. He really just liked to know exactly where Ren was.

That still wasn’t difficult to do as the crew of the _Finalizer_ was used to keeping a watch out for Ren and his volatile temper and it didn’t take long for Hux to learn that he, along with one of his Knights, was on the bridge. Hux didn’t understand why he would go there of all places and he turned on the camera feed to see what was happening.

From what Hux could tell, there was no crisis that would require the Supreme Leader’s presence on the bridge. He was standing there, as was Teris Ren, and everyone else seemed to be carrying out their duties while giving the Rens as wide a berth as possible. Including Captain Peavey, Hux noted. He usually liked to be as close to whoever was the highest ranking person around, but he was avoiding Ren. Not that Hux could blame him.

Hux returned his attention to the status reports he had been looking at, wanting to make sure there was nothing wrong with any of the ships in his fleet. As usual, things were running smoothly. Or at least, there was nothing that Hux himself needed to act on. Once he had finished, he looked back at the feed from the bridge and saw Ren was still there. 

He knew if he had been in Ren’s position, nothing would have kept him from returning to the bridge as soon as possible. But Ren didn’t need to be on the bridge. He should still be recovering from his injuries. Wanting to see if he could get him away, Hux sent a message, requesting a meeting as soon as possible. He watched on the screen as Ren checked his datapad, and then he left. He hadn’t expected Ren to come immediately.

Hoping he’d have time to look over the latest numbers from the _Supremacy_ clean up, he pulled up the report and started scanning over it. It was another one of those things that didn’t require action on his part, but he needed to be fully aware of what was happening. He never knew when a problem would arise.

Right as he finished reading, the door opened and Ren walked in. Hux glanced up at him but quickly looked back at his datapad. He hadn’t quite planned out what he was going to say to him, so he decided to pretend he was still reading while Ren stood over his desk.

“You can sit, you know,” he said, hoping he would at least move from his peripheral vision so he could think clearly. Eventually, he decided he simply needed to be honest with Ren. About everything. And then he’d see where things went from there. 

He put his datapad down and stood up, walking to the other side of the desk to join Ren. He’d noticed on the bridge cameras that he had been wearing one of the outfits he’d had ordered and he couldn’t help but smile as he ran a hand down the sleeve. “This does look nice on you.”

“Hux.” He raised his arm but instead of touching him, he took a step back. “Why did you want to see me?”

“I heard you weren’t taking care of yourself.” That was the reason he’d asked to see him right away. He knew Ren shouldn’t have been on the bridge and he wanted to make sure he rested. “From what I can tell, you were discharged from medical and went immediately to the bridge.”

He sat down on his sofa with Ren, but he kept a hold of his hand. If Ren pulled away, perhaps that would tell him how he really felt. And if he stayed where he was, then perhaps there was hope for them. He didn’t move at all, which hopefully meant Ren would be open to what he had to say.

“I don’t know if I have been hurting you, but if I have, it’s been unintentional on my part. I do care about you. More than I should, probably. But whatever this is between us, I like it. I want it to last.”

Hux couldn’t believe he managed to say any of that out loud. He felt like he needed to say so much more to him, but he really just wanted Ren to respond. But he just sat there, staring at their hands. He hadn’t tried pulling his hand away, but because he was silent, Hux had no idea what he might be thinking.

“Kylo?” 

Ren looked up, but his face was completely emotionless. At first, Hux thought that meant that Ren felt very differently about him, and although Hux hadn’t said anything too embarrassing - like telling Ren he loved him - he wanted nothing more than to just disappear and pretend he had never said those words.

“If you don’t feel the same, that’s fine. Nothing has to change. In fact, just forget I said anything at all.” There was still no response from Ren, and that’s when he realized exactly what was happening. It wasn’t that he felt differently - something was wrong with him. He placed his hands on either side of Ren’s face, looking at him to see if he could see anything wrong. Not being a medic, he wasn’t sure, but he knew something must be wrong.

“You need to go back to medical,” he said as he pushed him back down on the sofa. He didn’t resist at all, which was also unlike him.

“I’m fine,” he muttered, trying to sit up. Hux put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him down, and surprisingly, Ren didn’t simply push him off.

“I don’t think you’ve heard a single word I’ve said.” Hux wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but he didn’t need to worry about that at the moment. “You probably have some kind of head trauma.”

“No, I don’t. I’ve been fine for hours. I just… got distracted. What were you saying?”

“I just want you to take care of yourself, Kylo,” he said. He wasn’t about to repeat his earlier words. It had been hard enough to say them the first time, and he couldn’t bring himself to say it again. Maybe some other time. Or maybe never. “You need to rest and heal properly. It’s not as if you were needed on the bridge anyway.”

For a moment, Ren didn’t move, but then he pushed Hux away and headed towards the door. Hux knew Ren was moody, but it seemed like an unusual shift, even for him. He reached out and grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him.

“Where are you going?”

“My quarters. Since I’m not needed.” Ren pulled his arm away from him and walked out the door. Only when he was gone did Hux realize that he’d done something wrong.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been neglecting this for so long! But I think I've got it all edited now and will post the last chapter shortly.

Hux stood inside his quarters for several minutes, replaying everything that had just happened. He knew Ren was likely just moody, possibly from head trauma. But some part of him knew that he had done something wrong and he needed to go see him. After briefly trying to talk himself out of it, he walked to Ren’s quarters. 

He started to press the button to request entry when he heard something crashing inside. Once again, he tried to convince himself that he should walk away and let Ren wear himself out with a tantrum. At least he would only be destroying his own stuff. But he also knew he was responsible - at least partially - for whatever had set him off. And he wanted to try to make things better.

Knowing he couldn’t do anything from the corridor and that Ren was not in a state to actually let him in, Hux used his override code to enter. As soon as he did, he remembered that walking in on Ren rarely ended well for him, but he didn’t have time to retreat before he could feel the invisible grip around his body. But he didn’t go flying across the hall or find his air cut off. 

“What do you want?” Ren asked. He sounded angry, but he released him and Hux walked into his room.

“I wanted to make sure you were all right,” Hux said. But he didn’t need to ask the question. The overturned desk in the corner of the room told him all he needed to know. “Clearly, you’re not.”

“I don’t see how that’s your problem. Go away.”

“It is my problem,” Hux argued, taking a step towards him. “Because you didn’t even seem angry earlier, so I obviously did something to make you do this.”

“I told you to go away. I’m sure you have more important things to do.”

“You know what, Ren? You’re right. I really do. But here I am making an effort to make things work between us. If this is how you’re going to act, however, I don’t think it’s worth it no matter how good the sex is. Especially not if I have to deal with your Knights too.” 

“That’s fine with me!” Kylo shouted at him. “My Knights can at least give me what I want.”

“Obviously, not. If that were true, you never would have come to me in the first place. They’re the only people in the galaxy who seem to tolerate your presence for more than five minutes, and even they never -”

Hux found himself unable to continue speaking or even open his mouth. It was at least somewhat better than being choked, as he could at least breath, but he couldn’t help but be annoyed. Ren stepped towards him and for a moment, Hux feared that he would strike him. He couldn’t believe how bad things had gotten between them. And he’d been ready to confess his feelings - he had confessed his feelings. Ren just hadn’t listened. And now they were fighting again and Ren was attacking him with the Force. He’d thought they’d moved beyond that, but clearly, he was wrong.

He wasn’t sure if he was angry or sad about how things had turned out between them. And he couldn’t help but feel at least some animosity towards the Knights. Things had seemed better - simpler - before they arrived. Suddenly, Ren released him and turned and walked into his bedroom. Hux stood there in confusion, not quite sure what had just happened. Before he could follow Ren, the door opened and one of his Knights walked in. Teris. Or at least, Hux thought it was Teris. It was hard to tell with their helmets on.

The Knight didn’t even look his direction as he crossed the room and went into Ren’s bedroom. Hux could see the red glow of the lightsaber coming from the room and followed Teris in. He watched as Teris put an arm around Ren and then grabbed hold of his lightsaber and turned it off. Hux never would have believed someone could so easily calm Ren down.

“You should go,” Teris said, finally looking at him.

“I need to speak with him.”

“Not now. He will speak to you when he’s ready.”

Hux wanted to argue and tell him that he wasn’t going to wait, but then he watched as Teris pulled Ren against him and Ren completely relaxed. If he wanted to do what was best for Ren, he had to leave. It didn’t mean he was going to give up. He needed to talk to Ren and try to make things right. He couldn’t stand the thought of going about his day like he hadn’t hurt him. Because he knew he had. He’d done something wrong.

Not wanting to leave without having a chance to talk to Ren, Hux sat in the front room, waiting. While he did, he thought about their conversation before Ren had walked away. And that’s when he realized exactly where he went wrong. He hadn’t meant the words like that, but now that he thought about what he said, he understood why Ren had been so upset. He’d only wanted Ren to take care of himself, and he’d made things worse. No matter how long it took, he knew he had to try to explain himself to Ren.

When the bedroom door opened, Ren and his Knight walked out. Hux watched Ren, who was looking at the floor and he could see that Teris was watching him. They didn’t move or speak until Teris finally turned towards Ren, hugged him and then left.

“Do you want to sit down?” Hux asked once Teris was gone. Ren remained where he was for a few moments but then he joined him. “I want you to know I didn’t mean it when I said you weren’t needed on the bridge. That’s why you’re upset, isn’t it?”

“I know it’s the truth.”

“No, Kylo.” He reached out, wanting to take Ren’s hand, but as soon as he touched him he pulled away. “I only meant that they didn’t need you right then. You could have been resting.”

“You don’t have to lie to make me feel better. I’ve been doing my best and I know it’s not good enough. I -”

It hurt listening to Ren talk, knowing he believed what he said. The worst part was that Hux knew he was likely responsible for him feeling that way. And he didn’t know if it was the Force, whatever kind of strange bond they hand, or something else, but he knew exactly what Ren needed. He reached over and grabbed him, pulling him against him before he could protest or move away. He tried to push away, but Hux refused to let him go. 

“I know, Kylo,” he said once he stopped struggling. “I know how hard you’ve been working. You’re doing a good job. Many of the officers are really starting to like you. The troopers as well.”

“I don’t care if they like me.”

“It’s a good thing,” Hux said as he stroked his hair. “You’re inspiring loyalty among the ranks like Snoke never could. Conditioning is one thing, but you have the potential to do so much moe. They’re still talking about the way you defended a lieutenant and now you’ve put yourself in harms way, which very likely saved some of the troopers’ lives. Having your people like you, or even love you, can only be a benefit.”

As Hux spoke to Ren and ran his fingers through his hair, he realized he meant every word he said. He only wanted to say the things that he knew Ren needed to hear, but it wasn’t a lie. Ren wasn’t the perfect Supreme Leader, but Hux preferred him to Snoke and knew he could be a great leader. With his help, obviously.

“Of course,” Hux said, “I really hope you don’t put yourself in danger like that again. Being well liked doesn’t matter if you’re dead.”

“What do you want?” Ren lifted his head up from his shoulder.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re only nice to me when you want something. So what is it?”

“That’s not true,” Hux said, knowing it was a lie. But hopefully he’d have a chance to change that. “And even if it was, is it so wrong if I wanted to do something a little different?”

“Yes,” he said, pushing Hux away, but he stayed sitting next to him. “There’s a reason you’re doing this.”

“It’s not that I want something. I just talked to your Knight and after she finished threatening me, she mentioned that you might like it if I was a bit… gentler with you.”

“Lys said that?”

“Well, she implied it.” Even that was a stretch. Hux had to put the pieces together himself given what little Lys had said to him.

“And she threatened you? Is that why you’re trying to be nice?”

“Of course not.” He was almost offended that Ren thought he could be threatened so easily. “It’s just become apparent that just having sex isn’t enough for you. But… I don’t know if you’re interested in that. With me. But I am open to the idea.”

“Oh.”

Hux didn’t like the sound of that. But he was rather certain that Ren liked being held and touched. Whenever he touched him, he seemed to enjoy it and never asked him to stop or walked away. “So is that what you want? Or should it just be sex between us?”

“No,” Kylo said, and Hux felt his heart sink. He shouldn’t have been disappointed that Ren only wanted sex, but he had looked forward to a different type of relationship. Before he could react to what Ren said, he reached out and grabbed his hand. “I mean, I want that. I want you to touch me. And I want to touch you. Is that okay?”

Hux smiled and leaned against Ren. He hadn’t realized how much he wanted to do just that and when Ren put his arms around him, it was even more perfect. It was a shame it had taken them so long to get to that point, but Hux was glad they had gotten there.

“What do you want me to do?” Ren asked.

“Right now, just this.” He turned his head and started kissing Ren’s neck, thinking about what else he wanted from Ren. “But then, I want to take these clothes off of you and -”

“Hux.” Ren pushed him away just enough so he couldn’t kiss him but he still had an arm around him. “What do you want from me in return?”

“Ah. That.” Hux thought they’d agreed to stop having sex in exchange for favors. But he decided it was best to not start that discussion at the moment. But he didn’t have anything he could ask for. “It’s something I’d like to discuss with you after. It might ruin the mood.”

That at least was true. 

“And if I don’t want to do it?”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but he wondered what would happen if Ren didn’t want to change anything about their arrangement. Ren didn’t say anything and Hux couldn’t handle the silence.

“As much as I’d always wanted you to think more, this is not the time. Or do you actually have head trauma?”

“My head’s fine.” Ren put his arms around him and pulled him against him. They stayed like that for several moments. Hux felt relaxed against Ren and would have been happy enough to simply sit with him.

It was only when he felt Ren rest his head on top of his that Hux realized that he did want more. Hux turned in his arms so he could kiss his neck and he continued to move as he kissed his way towards Ren’s mouth. As soon as he reached his lips, Ren tightened his grip as he returned the kiss.

Hux lightly nipped at Ren’s soft lips and then ran his tongue against the seam. It took him a few moments, but he finally opened his mouth and Hux slipped his tongue inside. That seemed to take him by surprise, but he didn’t stop, so Hux didn’t either. He put a hand between them, moving just enough that he could put his hand over Ren’s cock, and he was rewarded with a soft moan.

Ren’s lips were perfect and Hux was reluctant to stop kissing him, but there were other things he wanted to do too, so he slowly pulled away from him, kissing him as long as possible as he slid down on the floor between Ren’s legs. He quickly removed both of their boots and then he started to remove Ren’s pants. As he pulled them down, he started kissing the skin as it was bared. He kissed as far down as his knees and then started kissing back up his legs, licking and gently nipping at the inside of his thighs.

Hux very intentionally did not give any attention to Ren’s cock, which was difficult to do given its size and how close to his face it was. Every now and then, he nearly brushed it with his lips or tongue and Ren whined whenever he did.

“You’re so needy,” Hux said, running his fingers along the inside of his thighs.

“Hux,” he whined.

“Yes, Kylo?” he asked, looking up at him. “What do you want me to do?”

For a moment, he thought he must have broken Ren because he just stared at him. Finally, he felt invisible hands on him pulling him up into Ren’s lap. As much as he hated Ren using the Force on him, he couldn’t complain about that particular use. Ren had his arms around him as he kissed him but he wanted more and he reached for the buttons on the rest of Ren’s clothing. At the same time, Ren used the Force to help remove Hux’s uniform.

“I’m glad you’ve finally learned a good use for those powers,” he said.”

“I can show you more next time you’re on the bridge.”

“Don’t you dare.” Even as he said that, he continued kissing him. With his collarbone bare, he couldn’t help but lay a line of kisses across it.

Ren moved his hands down to cup his ass and he’d just moved a hand under the band of his underwear when Ren tightened his grip. Without warning, Ren stood up, picking Hux up and carrying him into the bedroom.

“Kylo, what’s going on?” Hux glanced towards the door, hearing voices on the other side.

“They wanted to give me their report. They won’t bother us.”

Hux almost asked who he was walking about but that was obvious. The only people who would give Ren a report would be his Knights. He glanced towards the door, almost expecting them to walk in. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes,” he said, grinning. “Unless you want them to. Is that it Hux? You want someone to walk in on us when my dick’s in your ass?”

“What’s wrong with you?” He pulled Kylo into a kiss, hoping to hide just how red he knew his face was turning. He hated to admit it, but the idea did turn him on. “Maybe save that idea for later?”

Knowing the Knights were just outside the door, Hux tried to be quiet but it was difficult since Ren seemed to touch him in all the right places. He seemed to know what he wanted even before he did. Probably by using his mind reading abilities, but Hux had to admit it was a very good use of them.

When Ren finally slipped a finger inside him, he gave up on trying to be quiet. If the Knights were still around, then they would simply have to deal with the noise. He cried out as Ren brushed his prostate and then pushed himself further down around his finger, wanting more. Ren didn’t just give him what he wanted, teasing him. 

“Ren,” Hux panted. “Kylo. Please.”

“Please what?”

“I need more,” he begged. “Kylo. Please.”

Ren ran a finger over his cock as he started to push in another finger, and Hux couldn’t help but push his hip up, wanting more than just a a light brush on his cock. Ren obliged by licking up his length and then sucking the head of his cock into his mouth. Hux thought he was going to come right then but Ren eased off his prostate.

“Fuck, Kylo.” He couldn’t even manage to get out a full sentence. Ren looked up at him, a grin on his face. Hux wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his face, so he sat up and pulled Ren close enough so he could kiss him. He didn’t pull away until he felt a third finger pressing against his entrance and he shook his head.

“No,” he said. “Fuck me. Now.”

“Are you sure?” Ren asked.

“Yes I’m sure!” Hux growled at him. He’d already made him wait too long. He tried pulling Ren back down, but instead, Ren rolled over on his back as he pulled his fingers out, letting Hux sit on top of him. He could feel Ren’s cock under his ass, and now that he was in control, Hux wasted no time.

Hux rode Ren’s cock and Ren kept his hands on his hips. Even without a hand on his cock, Hux thought he might come soon. He wanted it to last just a bit longer so he slowed down, leaning forward so he could kiss Ren some more. 

In the back of his mind, he realized something was different, and he knew it probably had something to do with whatever bond Ren had made between them. He’d never been so desperate for Ren before, nor had he ever particularly cared if Ren enjoyed himself. Now, he wanted Ren more than anything and his stomach fluttered every time he looked at Ren’s smiling face. It was a problem to be solved later, because he could really only worry about riding Ren and getting his cock as deep as possible.

Right as he was thinking that he needed Ren even deeper inside, he put his arms around him and flipped them over. Hux wrapped his arms and legs around him, needing him as close as possible. He pressed his lips to Ren’s neck, kissing and biting, and softly calling his name.

He knew that Ren was using the Force - both to read his mind and to touch him - but he really couldn’t complain. When he came - with Ren’s hand or maybe the Force on his cock - he couldn’t help but scream his name as he held him tight against him. Ren continued to fuck him until he almost couldn’t handle it anymore. When he finally came, Hux held on even tighter and Ren rested on top of him. 

There was something comforting about Ren laying on top of him like that and Hux wanted him to stay just like that. He loosened his grip on him and ran a hand down his back. He wanted to touch every part of him, but he didn’t get much of a chance, as Ren got up very quickly. Hux wanted to grab him and tell him to stay, but by the time he felt up to moving, Ren was gone.

Hux slowly sat up, looking towards the closed refresher door. He thought they had agreed that some amount of affection was acceptable. But if Ren wanted to be alone, Hux wasn’t going to intrude. He went to put his clothes on so he could leave when he remembered that most of his clothes were in the front room. Hux hoped that the Knights were no longer there, as he didn’t want to walk out in front of them in nothing but his underwear.

Soon that was the least of Hux’s concern. Something was wrong with Ren - he was in pain. Knowing the cause of the feeling didn’t make a difference. Hux still knew he had to go to him. He had no idea what could possibly be wrong but he needed to get to him and help.

He opened the door to the refresher and saw Ren sitting on the floor, head on his knees. He raised his head when Hux walked in but quickly put it back down. In that brief moment, Hux had seen that he was crying.

“Kylo?” Hux walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. Before he could ask what was wrong, he heard the sounds of other people entering. He looked to see three of the Knights of Ren crowding into the refresher. Before he could say anything, Lys had pulled him away from Ren. 

“What -”

“Get out of here!” Lys shouted at him.

“Is he okay?”

“Does he look okay? Get out!”

Lys shoved him out of the refresher and then into the front room. He found his clothes flying towards him. It was then that he realized he was in his underwear. He wanted to demand to see Ren - especially since he could still feel that he was hurting - but he didn’t want to argue while nearly naked.

“I told you to leave him alone!”

Lys walked back into the bedroom, leaving Hux to get dressed. He very much wanted to return to his own quarters and ignore just how strange his relationship with Ren was, but he couldn’t. He could feel that Ren was hurting less, but he still wanted to go to him. Before he’d been removed from the refresher, he saw the other two Knights hugging him and he knew that should have been him. 

Although he knew the Knights were with him and that they would not want him around, he had to see him. Once he had his pants and undershirt on, he went back into the bedroom and saw that Ren was sitting on the floor, wrapped in a blanket with his Knights surrounding him. Lys started to get up, but Kylo grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.

“Kylo, what’s wrong?”

For a moment, Kylo started to feel terrible again, but he didn’t say anything. He just closed his eyes.

“You,” Lys said, in answer of his question.

“Kylo, I could feel you again,” Hux said, ignoring Lys. “That’s what you were feeling, right? It was terrible, whatever that was. Does that happen often?”

“Only when he’s with you,” Lys said. “I’m glad you felt it. You deserve it.”

Ren clearly had no intention of speaking to him, but at least the hurt was diminishing. It had only started to get bad again when he walked into the room. Perhaps Lys did have a point that everything was his fault. Ren needed some space, but Hux would talk to him when he was ready.

He left, feeling another bit of pain. It wasn’t coming from Ren. Hux knew it was his own pain. It hurt that Ren preferred his Knights to him. But if he wanted a relationship with Ren, he knew he needed to accept his relationship with them as well.


	14. Chapter 14

Talking to Ren was more difficult than Hux imagined. He knew it always took Ren time to return to normal, but it had never taken more than a day or two. When nearly a week had passed, Hux realized he had really screwed up. If Ren still wasn’t talking to him, he must have really been hurting. He couldn’t feel anything in their bond, but he also noticed his Knights were around a lot more. Maybe they’d managed to break the bond.

Eventually, Hux decided he needed to talk to Ren, whether he was ready to or not. He just needed to talk to him. Even if all Ren wanted to say was that it was over. When he did try talking to him, he found that his Knights were always there. They’d either steer Ren away or in Lys’s case, she’d tell him to go away.

The more he observed of their behavior, the more he realized that perhaps it wasn’t Ren’s idea to avoid him. The Knights seemed to be making an effort to keep them apart and it wasn’t hard to guess which of the Knights came up with that plan. That meant he was trying to speak to the wrong person.

Instead of trying to find time to talk to Ren, he started focusing on Lys. He had no idea where he might run into her - he usually only saw her when she was guarding Ren. What she did the rest of her day, he had no idea, so he started some research, using the ship’s cameras to figure out where she usually spent her days and where he might run into her.

Hux didn’t want to deal with any more Knights than necessary or make a scene by trying to talk to any of them around others. While the Knights were frequently away from First Order personnel, they were very rarely on their own. Lys almost always seemed to be around one of the other Knights and after observing her habits for a few days, he decided he was simply going to talk to her, even if the other Knights were around.

His plan was to wait until the end of his shift on the bridge and he’d find her and try talking to her. But the Knights of Ren seemed to like changing his plans and with nearly an hour left of his shift, he saw Lys on the bridge. She had no business being there and he was about to ask her to leave when he realized it was a perfect opportunity. He didn’t want her shouting at him in front of the crew, but she was there. If she got angry, then he’d simply try again later.

She wore her mask so Hux couldn’t see her facial expression, but he could imagine it was angry. Lys hated him and never wanted to see him, but he hoped he might be able to change that. At some point, Ren had become important enough to him that he was willing to talk to his Knight and convince her that he deserved to be with him. It was ridiculous, but there was also no way around it.

“I’d like to speak to you,” Hux said as he approached her. He kept his voice low, not wanting to draw attention.

“I’d rather not,” she said.

“Well, if you’d like to skip the talking part, you can let me talk to Ren. Kylo.”

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Hux almost told her that it would need to wait until after his shift, but with nothing much happening, there was no reason he couldn’t leave the bridge. If he was needed, someone would comm him. And he was more than happy that she planned on taking the conversation elsewhere instead of having an argument on the bridge. He was less happy that she led him to his own quarters, but he had more important things to discuss.

“I don’t want you around him,” Lys said as soon as she sat down.

“I know. Unfortunately for you, he can make his own decisions. Does he know you’re keeping us apart? I can find a way to tell him. I’m not certain he’ll be happy about that.”

“So let’s talk.”

That at least confirmed that it wasn’t Ren’s idea and it gave him something else to work with - Ren wouldn’t be happy to learn what Lys and the others were up to. 

“Why are you so intent on keeping the two of us apart?”

“You hurt him.”

“Yes, you’ve mentioned that a lot. But you’ve never actually told me what it is I’m doing to hurt him.”

“You’ve seen it. And felt it.”

Hux remembered the last time he’d felt anything from their bond, when Ren was crying in the refresher. He’d felt his pain, although he had no idea how he was responsible for that. And if he was doing something, it wasn’t intentional. He told Lys as much, and she had nothing to say.

“How am I supposed to stop something if I don’t know what it is I’m doing?”

“By staying away from him.”

“That’s not going to happen. Not unless that’s what Ren wants.”

“Are you saying you want a relationship with him? A proper relationship?”

“I…” Hux almost said he only wanted to continue sleeping with him, but he knew that wasn’t true. He had nothing to gain from lying to Lys, either. “I’m not sure what it is I want exactly. But I do care about him.”

“Then maybe you should have said that to him.”

“I’ve tried. Last time, it didn’t go so well. Then we ended up having sex. Which apparently, you Knights always know about because you’re connected to him, right? Is there a way you can turn that off?”

“What? You don’t want us knowing what you sound like in bed?” Lys smirked and Hux felt his face turning red. It was bad enough that Ren knew that, but he hated that his Knights did too. Especially since he didn’t even know most of them and the ones he did know, he did not know well.

“Don’t worry, General,” Lys said. “It is definitely something we can tune out. And what we do get is very much like what you receive from him. It’s more feelings than anything else.”

“Ah.” That was at least somewhat better, but he still didn’t like the idea. Still, he’d been well aware of that connection the last time he’d slept with Ren and it hadn’t slowed him down. “Is there a way to turn off a connection?”

“I don’t think so,” she said as she launched into a discussion of how their connection with Ren worked. There were definitely parts that didn’t make sense to Hux, but he was glad to finally know something about how things worked. Or at least, how Lys thought they worked, as she wasn’t entirely sure.

It made sense however that Ren had created their bond while in a highly emotional state, which would make it somewhat similar to how his bond with the others was forged. But from listening to Lys talk, he was certain it was different, possibly because he wasn’t Force sensitive. That obstacle seemed to be why Lys was still skeptical of the connection.

“Is there a way to break it?”

“It shouldn’t even exist. How can you destroy something that shouldn’t be?”

“I suppose it’s something I can live with,” Hux said with a sigh. “But how is it that I’m hurting Ren and how do I stop it?”

“You should be able to figure it out. If not, maybe you shouldn’t even be with him.”

“I should have known I wouldn’t get an answer from you. What is it going to take for you to let me talk to him again?” He didn’t think Ren would make things any clearer, but if he could at least let him know what his Knights were doing, he would tell them to stop interfering. 

“Do you actually care about him?”

“Would I be going through all this trouble if I didn’t?”

They sat in silence, just staring at each other. Once again, Hux felt like the entire situation was ridiculous, like he had to ask permission to be with Ren. But on some level, he understood it. The Knights were worried about Ren, and who knows what kind of things Ren had said about him in the past.

“We both care about him,” Hux said eventually. “But he is an adult and can make his own decisions. If he wants to be with me, you shouldn’t stand in his way.”

“And if he decides to break things off?”

Hux shrugged. “That’s his choice as well. I wouldn’t hold it against him. I would certainly hope it was his own decision and you wouldn’t try to influence him.”

“We’ve tried. He’s very stubborn.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“He’s determined to be with you. Even if it hurts him. Hux, be careful with him. For all his strength and power, he really is sensitive. If you hurt him -”

“I won’t. I would never intentionally hurt him.” As he spoke those words, it shocked him to realize just how true they were. Lys almost smiled and gave a nod. He hoped she would back off and finally let him see Ren, but she never had a chance to, as the door opened.

Hux almost smiled because there was only one person who could - or would - barge into his quarters. Ren stepped inside and instantly froze, looking between him and Lys. It probably wasn’t what he expected to see, as he looked a little confused.

“Lys? What are you doing here?”

“Just clearing a few things up with the general,” Lys said. She stood and walked over to him. She put a hand on his shoulder and stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I suppose I can let him talk to you now.”

“What?” Ren still looked confused and Hux walked over to him as he saw Lys leaving. 

“So,” Hux said as he grabbed Ren’s hand and started leading him to the couch. “We really need to talk.”

“Why were you with Lys?” 

Hux sat down before speaking, sitting near the middle and hoping Ren would sit next to him. He sat on the far side of the couch, but kept holding his hand. Hux wasn’t sure what to think of that, but he’d wanted to talk and he finally had his chance.

“I asked her for some help,” he said, answering his question. “Clearly, we have some issues to work out and your Knights have been fairly determined to keep the two of us apart.”

“That wasn’t your idea?”

“Of course not.” The last thing Hux needed was Ren thinking he was keeping the distance between them. Hopefully, if asked, Lys would admit it was her doing. “I wanted to talk to you. Because looking back on things, I think I’ve made a mistake when it comes to you.”

“You don’t have to drag it out.” Ren started to pull his hand away, but Hux tightened his grip on him. He was going to make him listen. And if in the end, they decided they were better off separate, then so be it. But Ren would listen first.

“Don’t leave, Kylo,” he said, his voice softer than he intended. “This isn’t going to be easy for either of us, but we need to talk. I don’t want to keep hurting you.”

“Hurting me?”

“I take it you’ve been upset whenever we have sex. Your Knight implied as much and now that I’ve seen it myself, it’s not too hard to put the pieces together. I don’t want to do that to you, Kylo, but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

“It’s not you. I just get… emotional. I can’t control it, okay?”

“That’s why you always leave right away,” Hux said, as that started to make sense. “You didn’t want me to see.”

Ren nodded, and Hux felt like they were finally getting somewhere. He put a hand on his shoulder, wanting to invite him closer, but instead, he pulled away. Something else must be bothering him, but Hux wasn’t even sure where to start.

“I understand if you need to be alone. But I wouldn’t object if you stayed. You can at least come back when you’ve calmed down.”

“Okay.” He sounded very disinterested, but Hux was determined to figure out how to make things work. Even if it meant he had to be close to people besides him.

“Will you need your Knights to help you? That’s fine with me, although I would prefer if they don’t come barging in again.” He hated to think that Ren needed something from them that he couldn’t give him, but he had to accept that he didn’t have the same history together. Ren had known them for years and he was clearly close with them and comfortable around them. Which seemed to be more than he could say about their relationship.

“Why are you jealous of them?”

“Your Knights? I’m not jealous. I -”

“I can feel it in the Force. Whenever I’m with them and just now when you mentioned them.”

“Do you really want to talk about that?” He really didn’t want to talk about the Knights, but obviously, Ren was part of a package deal. “Okay. First of all, I want you to know that you can tell me the truth. It won’t change things between us.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The very first time we had sex. You said you’d never done it before. But then I look at how you are with your Knights and you’ve known them for years before you met me. So I can’t help but think you weren’t entirely honest with me.” He’d thought that ever since he first saw them cuddled together, although he never planned on bringing it up. But Ren wanted to talk about it.

“You think me and my Knights…” Ren shook his head. “Why would I lie about that?”

“I don’t know, and to be honest, I don’t particularly care. I just want to know the truth.” 

“Why?” He was starting to sound angry - not the direction Hux wanted things to go, but he really wasn’t surprised. “You’re upset that I might have sucked other dicks besides yours?”

“No, Kylo,” he said with a sigh. This really wasn’t what he wanted to talk about at all. “The only thing I’d be upset about is if you lied to me. Can’t you just tell me that much?”

“No.”

Hux started to stand up. He knew he should have expected that from Ren, but he’d hoped their relationship had become better than that. He wasn’t ready to give up on them yet, but he needed a drink. Before he could pull away. Kylo had him by the arm and pulled him back down on the couch.

“I mean, I didn’t lie to you, Hux. My relationship with the Knights isn’t like that. It never was.”

“Thank you.” At least they got that resolved, even if it wasn’t something Hux had cared about. But Ren was still sitting apart from him. He would have thought he would have started touching him if something wasn’t wrong, as he was terrible and keeping his hands to himself. He knew that Ren liked to touch and be touched. Which was probably why their hands were still so close together.

“Can I ask you something else about your Knights?”

“If you want.”

“Why haven’t they been around?” Hux had known about them and had seen brief glimpses of them on the ship before, but they never stayed long. “I feel like you need them. I clearly saw one of them diffuse one of your tantrums. It seems like you should always have them around.”

“Snoke. He didn’t like them. He did his best to keep us apart. Because of that, actually. He claimed that they kept me from truly giving myself to the dark side. When I lose control and give into the rage. That’s what Snoke wanted. And they’ve always been able to help me control myself.”

“So Snoke is the one truly responsible for all the damage to my ship,” he said, hoping it might bring a smile out of Ren, but he just shrugged.

“You can go yell at his corpse if you want,” Ren muttered.

“Well, you have your Knights now.” A thought crossed his mind but he paused before sharing it. But he wanted him to know how he felt, so he took his hand once more. “And you have me too. If you want me.”

“You must really want something. A promotion, isn’t it? That’s what you’re after.”

“No, Kylo,” he said, shaking his head. He had to tell him the truth, what he hadn’t been able to say since their relationship started. “I was never fucking you because of what you could give me. That was just an excuse. I didn’t want you to know how much I wanted you, and then, I didn’t want you to know that I cared or that I wanted more than just sex. I know I should have said something. I should have at least made an effort to show you I do care about you. And I’m sorry for that, Kylo.”

“You’re not making sense, Hux,” he said pulling his hand away from him. “We both know you’re only with me so I’ll do things for you. I know you don’t care abotu me.”

“That’s not true. I may not be the best at showing it, but I am trying. I think you are too. Is this something you’d even want? A relationship with me? We’d have to discuss the exact parameters, of course, and -”

“Shut up.”

Hux fell silent. He knew he’d said too much, but he got too excited at the thought that Ren would want to be with him. He’d been certain that he liked him too, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was just sex for Ren.

“Why?” Ren asked eventually. “Why are you telling me all this now?”

“Because I want this to work. And I’m not sure there’s anyway it can unless we’re completely honest with each other. I’ve already told you what I want. I just need to know what you want.”

“I…” Ren shook his head. “You’ve felt this way from the beginning?”

“Yes.”

“So why did you turn me down?”

“I didn’t know what else to do,” he said with a shrug. “It was so unexpected and I actually thought you were mocking me. I think if I’d had more time and realized you were serious, I might have given you a different answer.” 

“And then I ruined it,” Ren said softly. “By making it an order. I didn’t really think about it. I was never going to hurt you. Not like that. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“I know.” He’d hated him after he’d given that order, but he realized he didn’t even care about that anymore. “You’ve been trying. And I appreciate it. I suppose you might want more time to think this through. We can discuss it later after -”

“No. You don’t have to go through all this, Hux. You can have your damn promotion, okay? And you don’t have to sleep with me. Is that what you want?”

“Kylo, I’ve told you that’s not what this is about,” he said, frustrated. He couldn’t believe he’d said all that and Ren still thought he was just after a promotion. “How can I prove it to you?”

As soon as he asked that question, he knew exactly how he could prove it. There were benefits to sleeping with a mind reader, after all. He grabbed Ren’s hand and lifted it to his face. “The Force. Read my mind. Then you’ll know.”

“You want me to read your mind?” 

Hux nodded and closed his eyes as he felt Ren starting to look inside his mind. Only after he started did he start to think that maybe there was nothing in there for Ren to find that would show him how much he cared. He would think it was all a ruse and he would never be able to convince him otherwise. Or maybe he would end up digging so deep he would find things that would make him hate him and he’d never want to see Hux again.

Before too long, he felt Ren withdrawing, and he opened his eyes. Hux looked at him, waiting for him to say something, anything. But he almost looked dazed.

“Kylo?” He wanted him to say anything. Even if it was over between them, he just wanted to know. 

Ren didn’t speak, but he lunged forward and pulled Hux into a hug. He held him so tightly that Hux briefly wondered if he was trying to kill him, but then he felt just how happy Ren was. In the same way that he could feel Ren’s pain, he could now feel joy and warmth and he couldn’t help but kiss him.

It didn’t take long for them to move to the bed, shedding their clothes as they went. They didn’t even have to talk, as they were connected with the Force and Hux knew exactly what Ren wanted. He’d never imagined softly fucking Ren while stroking his face and telling him how beautiful he was, but it was the best sex he’d ever had.

Even when Ren curled up against him, tears in his eyes, Hux couldn’t be disappointed. He could still feel everything he felt and he knew he wasn’t hurting. He was simply emotional, just like he said. And everything made sense. He had been hurting because he’d thought Hux was just using him. He had no idea how much Hux wanted him.

After Ren had calmed down, Ren sat up slightly so he could look at Hux. He put a finger in the middle of his chest and slowly trailed it down his body and Hux couldn’t help but shiver at his touch. He was in no way ready for another round, but he did very much enjoy Ren’s gentle touches.

“I suppose this time, I can take your measurements.” He dropped down, partially on top of Hux and started to kiss his neck.

“Why would you need to do that?” He hated to question him while he was kissing him like that, but he also had no idea what Ren was getting at.

“For your new uniform.”

“I wasn’t aware I needed one.” He’d removed his uniform before getting in bed, so he knew it hadn’t been damaged. Not unless Ren had damaged one on his own time.

“You will. Because you can have the promotion. Grand Marshal.”

“Kylo,” he said, pushing his face away, but he left his hand on his face. He still wanted to touch him as much as possible. “You don’t have to give me anything. I just want you.”

“I know.” Ren reached up and started petting him, messing up his hair even further. “But you deserve it. You already do the work. You should have had this long ago.”

“Only if you insist.” He pulled him back in for a kiss. He never imagined he’d be promoted while in bed with the Supreme Leader petting him, but he wasn’t going to argue. He did deserve it.

“I do, Grand Marshal Hux.”

He couldn’t hold back his smile. “Thank you, Supreme Leader.”

 

Hux woke up in a bed that was not his own. Nor was it Kylo’s. But it wasn’t like he could complain as it was huge and far more comfortable than anything on a First Order ship. Even as large as the bed was, Hux still ended up sleeping against Kylo. He couldn’t resist that man, who was now his husband.

They hadn’t even been married a full day, but Hux was rather certain that nothing could have made him happier. Perhaps finally crushing the Resistance, but even that, he wasn’t sure about. As much as he wanted to rule the galaxy unchallenged, he didn’t think eliminating them would feel as good as curling up in bed with Kylo Ren.

He scooted closer to his face, giving him a kiss on the nose. Kylo started to stir and Hux continued to kiss him all over his face. Soon, he was awake and had his arms around him.

“Morning Hux,” Kylo muttered, sleepy.

“Good morning, husband.”

Kylo grinned at that and pulled him into a kiss.

“I can’t believe we’re married,” Kylo said as they broke apart.

“You’re the one who asked. It’s a bit late for regrets now.”

“I don’t regret it at all. Do you?”

“Of course not.” He kissed him again. “I love you, Kylo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can follow me on [tumblr](https://threewinterssnow.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/Battle_Walrus)!


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